《Reincarnated As A Lion In Another World》


 Chapter 1: Reincarnation

    Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Reincarnation"YOU DARE TO BARGAIN WITH THE COUNCIL OF REINCARNATION?"


    An angry voice boomed across the black space with only six sources of light.


    "All I''m asking for is my memories, I don''t think that''s a hard to for you guys," An equally calm voice echoed out in response.


    A lone humanoid transparent figure stood in the center of this dark space. Surrounding this figure were six podiums, and at the top of each podium was a being of light.


    None of these beings could be seen and the humanoid figure was okay with that.


    "Mortal, it seems you do not realize the gravity of what you are asking." Said another being.


    A sigh escaped from the nonexistent lips of the human soul. "No, you guys don''t understand. My life up till my death had been filled with regrets and frustration for the mistakes I made, and the actions I did not take.


    The council wishes to reincarnate me and I want my memories to come with me to my next life. I want to remember all that I did in my previous life so that I can avoid it in my next life."


    "THATS CHEATING!" A female voice thundered.


    "No one gets to reincarnate with their memories, it''s a rule from the Highest Will." Another man said hurriedly.


    "Then I refuse to be reincarnated," The human soul said with firm determination.


    "You have no say over this," An angry voice rumbled.


    "Then why don''t you reincarnate me now?"


    "INSOLENT!" This time, the whole space seemed to shake and brew with ethereal energy. The human soul also began to fade away rapidly.


    True to their words, they didn''t need his permission to send him away to wherever they wanted. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Suddenly, there was a flash of light from nowhere in particular. The shaking hall stopped shaking and the tense atmosphere seemed to calm down.


    The rapidly fading human soul came back with its faint ghostly glimmer.


    "It is not that we can''t allow you to go with your memories, we can afford to make an exception now, but..." The female voice trailed off with the new revelation.


    The human soul was excited at first but reined in his expectations at the end of the sentence, "But what?"


    There was a long period of silence, so long it felt like an eternity, yet an instant.


    "You cannot choose what you become in your next life." A manly voice from the being of light in front of him answered.


    "Oh..." The human soul didn''t seem to be bothered, "What am I going to be?" He asked.


    "That, we don''t know, your fate has fallen into the care of the Highest Will."


    "Is that a good thing?"


    There was another moment of silence, "Mortal, let''s just say you could be very lucky...or unlucky." The voice that answered was filled with uncertainty.


    "So, the price I have to pay for my memories is that I wouldn''t be reincarnated as a human?" The human soul asked.


    "YES!" All six said at the same time.


    "Well, as long as it''s not some insect with a week''s worth of lifespan, it can''t be that bad."


    "Not necessarily, if you get reincarnated with your memories, once you die, that''s the end. That''s the rule unless you can access the power of Reincarnation on your own." Another female being said kindly.


    "..." The human soul didn''t answer


    "On the bright side, the Highest Will would probably give you something to increase your chances of survival. Whatever you become in your next life, you''d have to make the best use of it."


    "I''ll make sure of that," The human soul bowed, but none of the beings present acknowledged this act of respect.


    Before the human soul could raise his head, his transparent body dissolved into countless moats of light, and those moats of light gently flew out of the hall, being guided by a higher power.


    #########


    On a vast grassy land with yellow sprouts that moved with the wind and sparse trees as far as the eyes could see.


    At the bottom of a steep hill that stood at a corner of the grassland, a group of female lions wandered about the entrance of a small cave. The cave was only big enough to contain a group of lion cubs inside.


    The lion cubs within cried with their little voices, hoping for their mother to come and feed them.


    There was one particular lion cub that laid down on its side, with its eyes closed and its limbs stretched out. It looked dead but its chest rose and fell slowly, showing that that wasn''t the case.


    One of the lionesses outside the cave walked in, she looked around at the cubs with curiosity in her eyes, then rested her gaze upon the cub that wasn''t active at all.


    She lowered her large head to the cub, taking in its scent that proved evidence of life.


    This lioness was very confused, ever since she gave birth to this cub, it had never opened its eyes, nor had it let out a sound.


    No matter how much the other cubs jumped and played around it, it didn''t wake up, not once.


    The other lionesses were running out of patience. She, the mother, was the only one who still had hope, but even her strength was limited.


    Soon, the cub would be taken away or ripped to pieces just for taking up space.


    Just as she was taking a sniff of her cub, the eyelids of the cub shot open. Its golden brown irises looked around erratically before settling on the large lioness''s head in from of him.


    As though finally realizing something, the lion cub jumped to its feet in fright. Its eyes were opened wide in such a comical way that it would make any human question its intelligence.


    The lioness was also startled, one moment the cub was acting like a cripple, and the next moment it had jumped up and frightened her.


    The little lion cub stared at the lioness with fright clear in its eyes. It took one cautious step back, then it came to another realization.


    ''Why am I on all fours?'' It asked while looking down at its little furry limbs.


    The lioness leaned her head closer and gave the lion cub a gentle lick on the head before it could react.


    The lion cub stood there, frozen on the spot with its eyes wide open. That it was shocked was very evident.


    ''Fuck, I''m a lion.''

 Chapter 2: Kael

    Chapter 2: Chapter 2: KaelA few weeks later.


    Kael, the human soul, had slowly begun to get used to the fact that he was now a lion cub. When the Council Of Reincarnation had told him that he wasn''t going to be reincarnated as a human, a lion wasn''t what came to his mind.


    *Sigh*


    He lay down on a large boulder, staring at the sunset with mixed feelings. ''What now?'' He asked himself.


    In his past life, Kael has been an antisocial person, always reserved and keeping to himself.


    From the start, he lacked ambition, all he wanted to do was graduate from school, get a job, and be able to afford all his needs while living a comfortable life. It wasn''t wrong to desire something like that.


    But reality never really followed the will of man. When he graduated and began looking for a job, he realized that the hiring team looked at who he was connected to rather than his achievements in college.


    And him being reclusive had almost no connections whatsoever. His friends were pretty much extinct and his family never tried bothering themselves with someone who wanted to be left alone.


    Kael had to work extra hard to finally land a government job but his mistakes kept rearing their heads.


    First, it was his lack of connections, then his inability to create any good long-term plan, and his complacency caused him to miss promotions and opportunities.


    Most importantly, his lack of enemies was the biggest problem. He never had someone he wanted to surpass, no drive to be better. He was always trying his best not to offend anyone, and social mobility had to come with the willingness to offend the offendables.


    He couldn''t maintain a single love life. By the time he was forty, he had gone through multiple divorces, and no children, further ruining him.


    In their words, he was spineless.


    Kael watched his peers become more successful as time passed and it ate him up from the inside. He thought his life would be comfortable but it wasn''t, it was everything but comfortable.


    He spent his forties going through podcasts and reading self-improvement books, something he never bothered to do. It was only then that he realized all the places he went wrong. But it was too late.


    He desired to start over again but age wasn''t on his side. People already knew him for who he was and it wouldn''t just change and his area of specialty was restricted to what he learned in the university. Kael could only slip into depression having come to terms with his fate.


    He regretted not forming connections with friends in school, he regretted not being able to refuse things, he regretted that he was too afraid to offend anyone, and he regretted not being ambitious.


    He drowned himself in alcohol and internet content to distract him from the mess that was his life as much as possible.


    Eventually, while alone in his apartment as always, he drank himself to sleep and never woke up again. From there he found himself in the presence of the Council of Reincarnation.


    Him trying to convince them to let him reincarnate with his memories was what brought him to this very moment, in the body of a lion cub.


    *Sigh*


    ''How are the memories of a human supposed to apply to a lion?'' He asked himself in deep thought.


    He was a lion now, fine. He would do as the council had told him, make the best use of it.


    ''Didn''t they say that the Highest Will or whatever was supposed to give me something to increase my chances of surviving...''


    As Kael thought of this, he stood up on the boulder to stretch his limbs and spine. After yawning and exposing his toothless maw to the world, he jumped off the boulder.


    ''...I haven''t seen anything...''


    "ROAAR!"


    Just then, multiple roars came from ahead. The female lions had come back from their hunt.


    In the distance, Kael could see more than ten lionesses walking towards the hill. About a hundred meters behind them was the figure of a majestic lion, casually strolling with regal authority and an aura filled with pride.


    Among the lionesses, Kael could recognize one of them as his mother in this life. From the stains of blood on her nose, he could tell they had a good hunt. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Para pata para pata*


    Little footsteps were heard behind him as dozens of lion cubs rushed ahead to meet their mothers. Kael also picked up his pace so as not to be pushed down by the anxious little cubs.


    As Kael and his lion mother got closer, he was flanked by three other cubs. One male and two females, his siblings.


    Kael had another sibling, he remembered, an older brother. But the relationship with him was a bit complicated.


    Kael''s lion mother began licking them affectionately one by one. The three cubs ran around their mother playfully while Kael just endured it.


    Although he didn''t want to be antisocial anymore in this life, he found it demeaning of him, a grown man, to play around in such a manner.


    He had a dignity and reputation to protect.


    The lion''s mother lay down on the soft yellow grass, exposing her breasts to her cubs.


    The other lionesses who had cubs to feed also did the same thing while those who didn''t have any cubs simply laid around lazily.


    Kael stared at the nipples for a few seconds before joining his siblings in drinking their mother''s milk.


    He had watched a few documentaries on animals in his previous life, and even an idiot knew that cubs as little as he was could only take their mother''s milk in the meantime.


    Not that he was complaining though, his lion instincts always kicked in and prevented him from having any foreign feelings concerning it.


    The majestic lion from before slowly walked past them. Kael raised his head to take a good look at the lion which was supposed to be his father.


    In the past few days, he barely saw this pride leader and when he did, he was either sleeping or far away into his stroll.


    This was the first time he could take a good look at him. The first thing he noticed was the lustrous mane that seemed to have been burnt at the edges.


    Kael wondered if he was imagining things because he could swear that as the large lion walked by, the temperature suddenly seemed to increase a bit.

 Chapter 3: The Pride

    Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Pride''If I remember correctly, lions usually take three to four years to reach adulthood,'' Kael thought, contemplating to himself.


    He sat alone on his favorite boulder, watching his siblings and his cousins play around with each other.


    Kael liked being by himself to think. He would rather hang out with the more serious-minded adults, but he learned through some beatings that he was only welcomed when they wanted him.


    Especially the other mothers, they were very harsh towards any cubs that were not theirs.


    The cubs, still innocent, were oblivious to the pride dynamics.


    ''If I want to have a good life, no, if I want to have the best life as a lion, I''ll have to establish my own pride.'' As Kael thought about this topic, his eyes narrowed as he gazed upon the distant sleeping figure of his father.


    The pride leader was currently lying on his side amid the lionesses.


    At this time, two young male lions that hadn''t yet grown their mane sauntered over to the group with swagger.


    They stepped on the paws and tail of every lioness they walked past, earning them angry growls until he reached the pride leader.


    Without a single atom of respect, they dropped down by his side and began rolling themselves on the dirt ground.


    One of the lions in particular was bold, using his hind legs to slightly kick the big lion''s tail.


    The pride leader who had been resisting ever so menacingly, gently opened his eyes, revealing fierce ruby pupils.


    The pride leader was by no means small, he was almost double the size of these two young lions. His peculiar size was one of the things that made Kael understand that this pride leader was not exactly normal.


    Kael wondered what gave his older brother and cousin such boldness to go and disturb the pride leader.


    Although the only thing he knew about lions was surface level, he had taken his time this past week to study them closely. From their behaviors to their hierarchy system to the pecking order.


    The pride he was in, he named it the Hot Lion Pride because of how the area around the pride leader always seemed to mysteriously have a high temperature.


    He also divided the roles of each lion and classified them as best as he could. At the top of the hierarchy was the Pride Leader, who in this case was his father.


    Then below the pride leader were the consorts and eunuchs. Kael called them consorts and eunuchs because they really acted like that.


    In the pride, all the adult females who wished to stay under the protection of the pride leader had to become consorts. That is, the pride leader had the right to mate with them and they would help the pride leader extend his legacy.


    The adult males on the other hand who were not as strong or as supported as the pride leader and didn''t have the guts to challenge for the position of leader, could only become eunuchs.


    Not that they were castrated or anything, they just didn''t have the right to mate with any females within the pride.


    They could possibly encounter a rogue female lion outside but that was speculative as Kael didn''t know how that would play out.


    Irrespective of what they did anywhere, they all had to report to the pride leader.


    Then at the lowest spot were the young ones. The sub-adults, juveniles, and cubs were at the lowest spot.


    They only got to eat if there were any leftovers or if their mothers thought to bring them food.


    All in all, there were just three stages in the pride social hierarchy. The leader stage, the followers stage which were consorts and eunuchs, then the offsprings stage, the cubs, juveniles, and sub-adults.


    The Hot Lion pride had a total of eleven adult females, six of whom were mothers. Two adult males, his father and his uncle, both of whom were hardly seen. In this case, Kael''s lion uncle occupied the eunuch position.


    Then there were close to twenty offspring including four sub-adults, most of whom Kael expected to die before reaching adulthood.


    From what he remembered, the offspring would at some point either leave the pride, become a follower of the pride leader, or challenge the pride leader for his position.


    To Kael, it seemed like his older brother was getting too bold and would soon try to challenge his father.


    From the two sub-adult lions currently testing the patience of the pride leader, one of them was Kael''s biological brother, and the other was a cousin from another lioness.


    How did Kael know that that lion was his brother? Well, it was from the way their mother treated them. She was extremely tolerant of this older brother of his compared to the other lionesses.


    Even when they slept, this older brother never forgot to sleep near them.


    Kael lazily looked down from the boulder at his siblings and his cousins playing around on the dirt ground.


    ''That does look kind of fun...'' A weird thought he didn''t know he could have wandered into his mind.


    The more he stared at their playing forms, the more these thoughts wandered into his head. Before he knew it, he was getting excited.


    At some point, Kael didn''t know that he had positioned his body in a form as though he was ready to pounce on a defenseless prey.


    His instincts were taking over and his eyes widened with extra vigilance. One of the cubs playing below wandered near the boulder after being pushed by another cub.


    It heard the sound of soft paws on solid rock and looked up. Seeing the cub turn to him, Kael could no longer hold himself, his little muscles erupted with strength as he lunged himself at the cub. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He threw all his weight at it, causing the little cub to fall and get pinned down. Kael pressed one of his paws on the cub''s head and another on its ribs.


    The cub could see Kael''s golden brown eyes from the corner of its own. It was surprising that this cub who usually didn''t like interacting with anyone had taken such an initiative to play around. In its eyes, Kael just wanted to play.


    Only Kael knew that he had stopped himself just in time from biting down on the cub''s neck. Not that it would have done anything since he still didn''t have any teeth.


    He was confused, ''What was that?'' he asked himself. Simply attributing it to lion instincts, he simply walked away, denying the little cub the chance to play.

 Chapter 4: Primordial Lion

    Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Primordial LionAt the end of the second week since his birth and reincarnation, Kael began to feel...off.


    It was night time and Kael had just finished drinking his milk. His mother lay on the ground, dozing off, while her two daughters and son ran rings around her.


    The other lionesses and their cubs had also prepared to end all activities for the night.


    Kael''s older brother was also present, except he was already sleeping about a meter away from them. Kael was still a tiny little lion, so even a meter was quite large for him.


    Kael rested beside his mother''s head which was almost the same size as his entire body. His eyes were closed yet he kept turning and twisting.


    Sometimes he would accidentally kick his mother''s head but she would just ignore it before closing her eyes and going back to sleep.


    His siblings eventually tired themselves out before sluggishly dragging themselves to Kael and snuggling with him, tapping into his body warmth.


    When he had his first-night rest, Kael was very uncomfortable with this style of cuddling up against each other before sleeping. After all, he was used to sharing his bed with no one in his past life.


    He would always look the the distant pride leader, who could sleep alone without any disturbance. The only time he cuddled with any lionesses was when he wanted to, not the other way around.


    If not for the risk of exposing himself to nocturnal predatory birds that he couldn''t see at night, Kael would have preferred sleeping on his favorite boulder.


    But now, Kael was not worried about this. Rather he was troubled with the itching pain that had come up on his body that night.


    He didn''t know why but this very evening, his entire body hurt. To him, it felt like his blood vessels were burning hot.


    His heart pounded against his chest cavity with so much force that the vibrations could be felt from the ground.


    Kael continued writhing in pain, if not for his fur, he would be sweating profusely.


    After more than an hour of this painful episode in his life, the pain slowly began to subside.


    ''What was that?...'' Kael thought to himself while panting for breath. He rolled on his back so that his head would rest on his mother''s neck, he used her as his pillow.


    Kael opened his eyes to gaze at the cloudless night sky with its countless stars. He felt the cool night breeze brush upon his light brown fur.


    Whatever had happened to him and caused him so much pain had rendered him drained of energy. He could only lay in this position with his front paws hanging in the air.


    Looking at the bright stars, he was reminded of his past life. He wondered what would happen to his dead body in that messy apartment of his.


    It would probably take some time before anyone noticed his absence, considering his almost negligible lack of contact with the outside world.


    Thankfully, he didn''t exactly miss anyone so he wasn''t too hung up on the idea of anyone missing him.


    Soon, Kael found himself drifting to sleep with the thoughts of his past life the last thing on his mind.


    #######


    "WE HAVE WAGED A WAR THAT CAN NEVER END!"


    At the top of a silver cloud, a majestic golden lion stood with authority and power. His magnificent aura spilled over to fill the whole world.


    All beasts could feel its very presence as though the lion stood right beside them.


    "THE LIONS HAVE DECIDED TO MAKE AN ENEMY OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF. YOU DARE TRY TO CONQUER ALL THAT IS UNDER THE HEAVENS!"


    A voice came from nowhere in particular. It penetrated the ears of the golden lion. The golden lion in return simply closed his eyes.


    "VERY WELL THEN." The lion opened its mouth to speak, "IF THE HEAVENS CANNOT TOLERATE US, WE SHALL HUNT IT DOWN. THE HEAVENS SHALL KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE THE PREY OF LIONS!"


    Space itself seemed to crack under the sheer might of this golden lion''s words. Far beyond, the walls that held the void away from the material realm showed cracks on it.


    Below the cloud that the golden lion was standing on, there were two forces at war with each other.


    If one stared closely, one would see that on one side were lions, both dead and alive. Either in the middle of a fight or about to enter one.


    And what were they fighting? Kael couldn''t quite see what they were. The memory was lacking details.


    Kael couldn''t get a good grasp of what was happening before he was drawn out of this dreamscape. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He found himself standing in his lion cub form in a chaotic place. There was no light or darkness here, yet there was color, mostly gold.


    Hovering in no particular pattern were illusory lions, in different positions and stances.


    ''Where is this?'' Kael wondered to himself. He was confused, very confused. One minute, he was sleeping, next thing he knew, he was watching a golden lion declare war on an invisible enemy.


    But soon he quickly calmed down as bits and pieces of information started flowing into his mind against his will. It was like hearing sound no matter how one covered his ears.


    Kael looked carefully at his surroundings. There were eight illusory hovering lions, all seemed life-like yet didn''t seem to be alive at all.


    Their eyes were opened and they took particular stances or positions. It seemed like they were frozen in action.


    The first lion, as golden as the rest, had a dark gold mane and a dirt gold body. His eyes were a mix of black and gold. His claws which were exposed even as he was in a sitting position, revealed their metallic glint.


    Compared to the seven other golden lions, this lion looked impressively older. Its jaws and mane joined together to form a beard that fit his lion-like face.


    Looking at this large lion from the body of his little cub form, information on who this lion was flowed into Kael''s mind.


    "Alan, the first Primordial Lion,"

 Chapter 5: Power Inheritance

    Chapter 5: Chapter 5: Power Inheritance"Alan, the first Primordial Lion," A genderless voice spoke to him, feeding him the information needed.


    He tore his gaze from the old lion to look at the one standing next to him. It was another male lion, albeit younger looking.


    His mane was well taken care of and looked like it had been combed to fine perfection. His stance was like a lion frozen in time while walking.


    "Bethel, the second Primordial Lion,"


    The next was surprisingly a female. A lioness with beautiful golden fur and eyes. There was a look in her eyes that Kael noticed, it was the look he had seen from top corporate executives at his past place of work.


    It was a look that said the lioness saw everything in the world beneath her. It was the look of pride. Unmistakenly, all the illusory lions had a look of pride but this particular lioness was different.


    Kael almost felt that he was the one the lioness was giving that condescending look to.


    "Ishat, the third Primordial lion."


    Moving on, the fourth primordial lion didn''t even have a name. Kael stared at the little golden lion cub. No matter how long he waited, he didn''t receive the name of this one like the rest before it.


    ''Did he...perhaps die before he could grow up and mature?'' Kael wondered, but it was just a guess. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael didn''t waste time on the lion cub and moved to the fifth Primordial Lion. Now this lion was very intriguing.


    On the back of this lion were golden wings. His stance was as if he was about to take flight with his two very large wings spread out. A single flap of those powerful wings would have surely taken him beyond the clouds.


    "Silax, fifth Primordial Lion. And Jin, the sixth."


    The sixth lion looked utterly miserable. A scar ran across his face, crossing his missing eye and ending behind his ear.


    His left front paw was missing and replaced with a stump. Across his body were scars he got from savage creatures Kael could not even begin to imagine.


    One look at this guy would tell anyone that he didn''t have a really great life. Yet despite this, Jin''s head was raised high and his snout faced upward. Even when he seemed to be on the brink of death, he refused to lower his head.


    As Kael looked up at him, he could feel the blood that flowed through his veins boil, he felt agitated all of a sudden. Quickly shaking his head to remove the violent thoughts.


    He turned again to the seventh Primordial Lion who was also a lioness like the third. The most interesting part was that this lioness didn''t look like a lioness, rather, she looked human-like.


    Kael shook seeing the familiar shape of a human woman. "Derylia, seventh Primordial Lion,"


    Derylia didn''t look as prideful or as arrogant as the rest, instead, her eyes flickered with a playful glint. One of her hands was on her hips as she stood like she was posing for a camera shot.


    And the last lion, the eighth primordial lion, "Noel," His name came to Kael''s mind.


    Kael instantly recognized him as the golden lion that stood on that silver cloud and declared war against the heavens. Noel was the last known Primordial Lion.


    ''Then why am I here?'' Kael asked himself.


    "Because you are the Ninth Primordial Lion." That genderless voice sounded out in his ears again, answering his question.


    Kael jumped up in fright, "Who''s there?" He asked while looking around.


    "I go by many names, but you may know me as the Highest Will," The voice said.


    "Where are you? Show yourself?" The hair on Kael''s body stood on end.


    "Very well then," Then all the colors of the space converged into one spot in front of Kael forming a bright ball of light.


    Kael had to close his eyes due to the intensity of the light. When the light finally died down, Kael opened his eyes to see a little lion cub standing on the dark ground in front of him.


    Kael had seen himself in puddles of water multiple times before, so he was familiar with how he looked.


    The cub standing in front of him looked exactly like him. "Hello Kael," a manly voice that didn''t match the small body of the cub came out from its mouth. But Kael recognized the voice to be his from his past life.


    Kael opened his mouth to talk, but he couldn''t, his vocal chords and mouth were not familiar with forming words at all.


    "It''s okay. You have thoughts, therefore you speak to me," The Highest Will in the form of Kael spoke, seeing the situation Kael was in.


    Maybe it was because he had to be careful with his thoughts now that he knew the Highest Will could hear them, but he was calmer and more restrained. ''Can you please explain what happening?'' After some deliberation, he decided to ask the most crucial question.


    The Highest Will nodded and sat down, "I shall start from the beginning.


    Countless eons ago, the first Primordial Lion, Alan was born. He was also the very first lion to walk the realms.


    As the first of his kind, he was formed out of the essence of all creation to fit and embody a certain form. He was born with the Primordial bloodline.


    Primordial entities of different races have existed shortly before him and existed after him.


    Alan, despite his unique status, was alone. He was the only lion at that time, there was no other like him.


    He met creatures of different kinds along his journeys when exploring his home realm. Many of these creatures whom he mated with. Wolves, tigers, bears, reptiles, even dragons. However, none of these creatures ever bore him an offspring.


    It was only after spending eons alive as the only lion that he realized his purpose."


    When it reached this point of the speech, the scenery around both of them changed.


    Kael found himself looking at an exotic world from a new perspective. Looking around, he saw himself towering over trees and hills.


    However, the body Kael was in wasn''t his, and neither did it respond to his commands.


    "Alan was born with extreme power. After being alive for so long, he was just a few steps away from being an existence equal to me." The Highest Will appeared below on the ground. Kael felt like he was looking at an ant.


    "But the job of any first Primordial was to be the starting point for a new race."


    Kael''s consciousness was sucked out of the humongous lion''s body. He came to stand beside the Highest Will in his cub form.


    Looking at the lion from this perspective, he could see that he had been looking through the eyes of Alan himself.


    ''What a large lion...''


    Suddenly Alan started glowing in a golden light.


    "Alan figured that the only way to introduce more lions into the world was to sacrifice himself. Not that he wanted to, but what he wanted to do was create a race just like him, from scratch, it surely had to come at a price.


    Alas, this was the life purpose of all first Primordials, to usher in a new life, at the expense of theirs."


    Then Kael saw Alan burst into countless moats of light. The light spread out in waveform for kilometers before stopping.


    As if drawn by a strong force, the countless moats of light converged back to the place Alan had been.


    Alan, the old lion, was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood two figures, one lion and one lioness. Perhaps, because the first Primordial Lion was male, this new male lion looked bigger and stronger than his female counterpart.


    "And so from these two, the Lion race was born. It is from these two that the 18 great lion Powers would come from. And it is from these two lineage came the next seven Primordial lions,"

 Chapter 6: Dominant Roar

    Chapter 6: Chapter 6: Dominant RoarThe scenery faded away, leaving Kael and the Highest Will to return to the place that had no light or darkness yet had color.


    Once again, they were surrounded by the eight golden figures of the primordial lions.


    "That is where Alan''s memories end," The Highest Will said with a frightening calmness to his voice.


    When he mentioned the word ''end'', Kael could almost hear hundreds of other words like died, decayed, returned, perished, and hundreds more. It sounded like the Highest Will had seen things like this too many times.


    ''End?'' Kael spoke in his mind, just to be sure.


    "Yes," The Highest Will turned his head to look at Kael. Its golden brown eyes were emotionless, as though there was no soul behind those eyes.


    "Those were the last memories of Alan. The reason I let you reincarnate with your memories is not because you seemed special or anything, you are merely using an opportunity that randomly fell into your hands." The Highest Will said, not bothering to mince his words.


    "You have your memories because I want you to have a sense of identity. If I had deprived you of your memories, you would immediately think you are Alan reincarnated after inheriting his own memories.


    You can imagine a lion cub, barely a week old, suddenly having access to vast amounts of information in the form of memories. The cub would very well have an identity crisis then settle on itself that it is the reincarnation of Alan when it is not and has only assumed Alan''s memories to be his own."


    Kael understood the Highest Will, he wondered what made a person who they were. Their memories, or was it something else?


    "I''ve shown you a brief part of Alan''s memories so that you can reflect on it in the future on your own. From henceforth, I will leave you in this world to your fate.


    Your end is completely in your hands right now."


    Kael''s shoulders dropped, a bit disappointed, but also a bit relieved. ''Why?...'' He asked, ''Why are you doing this? What''s your purpose? What do you stand to gain?''


    The Highest Will turned its head to look at the seventh Primordial Lion, the lioness in human form. Derylia.


    "What do I stand to gain? Potentially nothing. As for my reasons..." As the Highest Will stared at Derylia''s illusory human figure, Kael could see a glint of sadness that came and went so fast that he thought he must have been imagining.


    "Some things are better left not talked about...for now," The Highest Will stated.


    "Well then, Kael," The entity in the shape of a lion cub, turned to Kael. "You''ve received a two-in-one package. Not only do you get the memories of the past Primordial Lions, something they never had, but you also get the Primordial Lion Power.


    It would naturally take some time for the Power to completely awaken inside your mortal cub body. Your first goal would be to survive till that time.


    "I genuinely hope you can become the strongest. Perhaps, we shall meet again in the future, or perhaps, we shall not."


    After saying that, the Highest Will waved his paw. This action was followed by the destruction of the space they were in.


    Kael woke up with a jolt, startling the lioness whom he was using as a pillow.


    He looked around, the sun had already reason, and some lionesses were already loitering around the den.


    A kick found its way to Kael''s face all of a sudden. He instinctively opened his mouth and bit hard on the ankle.


    There was a cry as one of Kael''s sisters was forced awake with that toothless but painful bite. Her cry woke the other siblings from their slumber, everyone was getting ready for another possibly meaningless day.


    Kael looked at his sister who looked at him with an indignant expression. Before it could turn into something else, Kael chose to walk away.


    He had a lot on his mind. He knew that everything he saw while asleep was definitely not a dream. It was too realistic to be a dream.


    Kael thought about the words of the Highest Will, the memories of Alan, and what this all meant for him.


    ''If I die, there going to be a tenth Primordial Lion,''


    Kael looked down at his paws, he looked closely at the fur. At the very end of each strand of fur, there was a golden tip. Too tiny to be noticeable unless one knew exactly what he was looking for.


    ''What killed the last primordial lions? The Highest Will said that Alan was just a few steps away from being his equal, did the other primordial lions ever reach that step?'' Kael kept asking himself.


    He had the memories in his head but he couldn''t even access them. His head hurt anytime he tried to check the corner of his mind that held these memories. It was like his mind could not handle the stress and load of those memories.


    "ROOAAAR!" A powerful lion''s roar spread out from the group of lions.


    Kael recognized that roar very well, it was his father''s roar. Every morning, the pride leader would give this roar to assert his dominance over everything in his surroundings.


    Kae estimated that the roar would spread for kilometers, probably scaring away any other lion out there that wanted to challenge him for his position.


    "ROOAAAR!" A weaker roar came from the distance. It was far and would have been barely audible, but it was early morning and there was almost no noise.


    That roar didn''t come from their pride, Kael was shocked to find out. It would have been more understandable if it came from his older brother or one of his sub-adult accomplices, but this roar came from a foreign lion.


    "ROAAAAAAARR!!!" A roar more terrifying than before spread out from the pride. This roar was unlike any other and Kael was hearing it for the first time.


    The surrounding temperature instantly increased as the sound of the powerful roar reached the clouds.


    Kael felt like he had been struck by a tangible heat wave. He felt very uncomfortable, even the little cubs were visibly showing discomfort. The adult lionesses however were pretty calm.


    The distant roar didn''t sound out again, the foreign lion was probably truly scared at this point.


    Kael was in awe, truly. This was the first time he felt so much power from the sound of one roar. The whole exchange of roars did not last more than a few seconds.


    His thoughts with his bidding desire to investigate were interrupted by his stomach grumbling for food.


    His little cub mind instantly pushed everything to the back of his mind and focused entirely on his food for that morning.


    S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 7: Brown Rat

    Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Brown RatIt has been three weeks since Kael was reincarnated as a lion. Today marked a very special day for him.


    Ever since a week ago since he got the primordial lion bloodline inheritance, he has not been able to fully access the memories of the previous Primordial Lions.


    Any time he tried to access them, he wouldn''t be able to see anything that was happening in those memories. Everything was too foggy or blurry in those memories.


    Defeated, he let go, seeing as there was not much that could be done about it at the moment.


    But there were other things to occupy himself with, like today, he discovered that his teeth had begun to shoot out of his gums.


    Along with this development came a nagging desire to bite something. Earlier this morning, he had subconsciously bitten his mother when he was drinking his milk.


    This had led to some strange looks from her but it was by the way.


    Currently, Kae was looking for his prey. Of course, he was too small to go hunting like the regular lions, but there were small prey he could work on.


    He remembered that this area was also home to some rodents, particularly brown rats.


    Kael crept up on a small hole by a thick tree. This tree was thick and gave the impression as though it was fat, all its branches were at the top, leaving the truck bare and almost climbless.


    At the base of this tree, a small hole was was present. Kael crawled slowly towards that hole. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was careful not to make any noise, alas he was inexperienced in the fine art of hunting. His paws were all over the place, his body was not lowered enough and there was no grass in the place tall enough to hide his body.


    By the time he was getting closer, the little rodent inside the hole stuck its head out curiously. It was the head of a brown rat, it had wide circular ears and a pointy nose. Beneath that nose were two long teeth.


    Kael froze when he saw the brown rat. Their eyes jammed, and the rat didn''t move either. It stared down at the cub that was too close for comfort.


    This rat had been living here for a long time. It was too small of a prey for the big lions to possibly care about. Unless they were pushed to the brink and absolutely starving, they wouldn''t even give his form a second glance.


    And the rat was smart enough to leverage this situation, it had built its home near the lion''s place of rest.


    It was aware of the fact that all the other beasts that would want to hunt it for food would be too scared of the lions to attempt to get near the thick three.


    It had even started a family hear, thinking that things would probably be like this for the rest of its short life. It had completely forgotten that lions also had cubs, and those cubs were small enough to consider a brown rat a sufficient meal.


    What was worse, no adult lion would ever stop the cubs from hunting these rodents.


    Kael''s black pupils shrank within their golden enclosure. His paws pressed on the ground as his muscles tensed.


    The brown rat felt the tension too, it refused to tear its eyes away from the cub. Kael too was patient.


    ''Why am I doing this again?'' Kael asked himself. Yet the itchiness from his teething gave way and broke down any intent to turn back. This would be a failed attempt, but he still moved.


    With the swiftness the lion race was blessed with, Kael erupted with speed and plans for violence.


    He moved fast, his paws were in the air in no time as his hind limbs shot him into the air. A few more milliseconds and he would have pounced on the brown rat.


    But the brown rat was faster than this young feline. All it had to do was stick its head back into the hole it came from, and it did so.


    Kael found himself losing balance as he lost his target. One of his paws touched the ground while the other entered the hole, further destabilizing him.


    *Rawr!*


    Kael let out a loud growl due to the slight pain and the frustration. This was the first time he felt actual pain since his reincarnation.


    His loud growl attracted the attention of the nearby lionesses and cubs. The lionesses didn''t react much, just a glance.


    The cubs however were quite curious. They were all born around the same time with the highest difference in age being a day or two. This meant that they were all growing their baby fangs around the same time.


    Although their itchiness to bite something wasn''t as profound as Kael''s. Many of them would just bite onto tree bark or small sticks to pass the time.


    Kael did not just want to bite something, he wanted to bite something to death. The sensation from his mouth was mind wracking and his tongue would once in a while feel a sleek feeling. It was as though the teeth he felt with his tongue were no ordinary teeth.


    What Kael didn''t know was that, unlike the rest of the cubs, his teething phase was accompanied by a desire for fresh meat.


    The cubs ran over to where Kael was. By now Kael had already gotten his paw out of the hole.


    As soon as the cubs came close, they could smell the funny scent of the brown rat, just as Kael could.


    Kael sat by the hole, patiently waiting, the brown rat couldn''t stay in that hole forever. That''s what Kael thought.


    The cry of another cub on the other side of the tree caught his attention. He turned to see the most surprising scene.


    The brown rat that he had been waiting for by the hole was now running frantically in the midst of confused lion cubs. And it was running away from the lionesses.


    ''Of course, other holes...'' Kael''s thought trailed off as he immediately ran after the brown rat.


    The power of groupthink showed itself at this moment as cubs who didn''t even know what was going on ran with Kael.


    They were eager and excited to participate in this activity.


    Kael ignored them, he simply trained his gaze on the brown rat and pursued it with an unfamiliar intent.


    The cubs, upon seeing that Kael was so focused on the rat, also became focused on the rat. They too began pursuing the rat.


    Kael''s older brother, who was playing with his fellow sub-adults, was also drawn by the mass of cubs running after one little brown rodent that wouldn''t even fill his belly.


    He was intrigued, this was an impressive scene indeed. The sight was similar to regular lions hunting their prey, except this was at a smaller scale and also very sloppy.


    The brown rat ran round and round, running rings around the tree and then going back and forth away from it. At this point, it would only be a matter of time before one of them ran out of stamina.


    On cue, some of the cubs stopped running after some time, tired from the running. The cubs that were still running after the rat were the biggest and the oldest among them.


    Kael was not the oldest, neither was he the biggest, yet he led them at the front, nearly outrunning the other cubs by a small fraction.


    Despite his mysterious advantage, he knew that in time, he would also get tired. It wasn''t like it was a must that all cubs caught their first prey successfully.


    Kael''s mind churned, he thought of a way to come out on top of this.


    Suddenly, the rat attempted to make a sharp turn like it had been doing. This would throw the cubs off the trail and make them have to turn around to begin the chase again, further widening the gap between prey and predator.


    Kael caught on to this move with his sharp eyes, and without thinking too much about it, he made a detour in the same direction.


    The brown rat had also made the sharp turn and was heading straight for another hole. But to its dismay, one particular cub was hot on its tail and was closing in.


    Kael had done right, when all the other cubs had been thrown off the trail and were looking to pursue again, he hadn''t needed to stop. His detour had simply given the rat enough rope to hang itself with.


    It got closer and closer to the hole, and Kael got closer and closer to his prey. They kicked up a small dust stream as they went at it.


    Right before the rat could enter the hole, it was just a few feet away. Kael''s body came slamming down in one pounce, bringing with him the full weight of his cub body.


    The brown rat squealed as Kael''s tiny claws pricked its skin.


    Now that Kael had caught the rat though, he didn''t know what to do. He was caught in a dilemma.


    ''How do I kill this thing?''

 Chapter 8: Fresh Meat

    Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Fresh MeatKael looked at the brown rat that screeched and scratched beneath him.


    How was he supposed to kill this thing, he wondered to himself. He recalled how lions killed their prey but it was different when he was to do the same in person.


    The first thing that came to his mind was to go for the neck. ''Should I just press its neck till it suffocates?''


    The other cubs were closing in fast. They had already seen the rat trapped under Kael and were eager to play with this rodent in the most malicious and violent way possible. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the cubs approaching, Kael instinctively tried to protect his prey. This was his catch, it was his to devour.


    But the cubs could barely understand a threat coming from another cub that was pretty much their equal in size.


    One cub in particular, a male, came too close. He stretched out his paw to try and grab the rat. It was comical but Kael wasn''t laughing.


    Lightning fast, Kael slapped the male cub on its face. The slap was unexpected and explosive, it practically sent the cub''s head swinging to the side.


    The male cub scurried away, it didn''t like that pain at all.


    Kael began to let out growls, baring his tiny developing teeth at his siblings and cousins. He didn''t want to share a prey that he also didn''t know how to kill.


    With no other choice, Kael opened his mouth gently and bit down on the rat''s neck. The rat was just big enough to have its neck fit perfectly into Kael''s mouth. It was a big rat alright.


    Kael could taste the fur of the rat, he could feel the muscles moving inside his mouth. The more the brown rat moved, the harder he began to calm down, not willing to let it escape.


    But there was a problem, Kael was still a three-week-old cub. His jaw strength was okay but not enough. The way he positioned his mouth over the rat''s neck, would only cause it discomfort and not suffocate it.


    Minutes passed with Kael trying to bite the rat to death to no avail. What was even worse was that the cubs were getting bolder, even his siblings were attempting to play with the rat''s tail.


    Kael got an idea, he could not pick up the big rat fully as it was almost half his size if not more than, he could only try dragging it.


    And so he dragged it away while it was screeching and trashing. Kael did not let go, he might not be strong enough to crush the neck but he was strong enough to keep it in place.


    The rat was suffering, as Kael dragged it over the grass and dirt ground, the other cubs would scratch at it or nibble on its tail. It was a pitiable sight for the rat.


    Eventually, Kael reached his destination, his mother. Most of the cubs did not follow him to this point. Each cub knew their mother and even Kael''s mother wouldn''t be so kind to these cubs, even if they shared the same father with her children.


    Kael''s mother looked down lazily at what her son had dragged to her. He was accompanied by his siblings who were also excited, jumping around and playing with the brown rat.


    Kael looked at his mother, she may not speak but he knew she understood his intent. Lions may not be as intelligent as humans but they were definitely not dumb, mostly just lazy but definitely not dumb.


    As Kael brought the squirming rat before her, she stretched out her large front paw and placed it gently on the rat. Her paw covered the body of the entire rat, leaving its head and neck -which was still in Kael''s mouth- out.


    Kael slowly released his mouth grip on the rat and then took some steps back, waiting in anticipation. His siblings also looked on.


    The mother looked at her children''s expectant gaze, especially Kael''s.


    *SPLAT!*


    The mother pressed down on the rodent ruthlessly. The full weight of the lioness easily crushed the rat to a flat mess. Its bones, not able to withstand the pressure, shattered within its body.


    Its lungs were forcefully emptied as the rat''s mouth let out a short jet stream of air. Blood shot out of its eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, and anus.


    The blood splashed everywhere, even on Kael who stood too close at that time.


    His eyes were opened wide in shock. He was expecting some kind of delicate process to kill a prey, maybe she would have shown him how to kill a thing or two.


    He didn''t expect her to so brutally end the rat''s life. The manner in which she attended to the rat was like she really didn''t consider this rat a prey or source of food at all.


    Kael licked the blood that splashed close to his mouth, ''This...doesn''t...taste bad,'' He mused.


    After his mother removed her paw, all that was left was a flat piece of meat and crushed bones.


    Kael approached the kill, he stared in amazement at the graphic sight. One minute, the rat was alive, the next it was squashed to death. He bet that the rat hadn''t woken up today to expect itself to die in this manner.


    After some hesitation, Kael lowered his head, opened his mouth, and licked a bit. As a former civilized human, Kael found it hard to accept the idea of eating raw meat.


    But he was a lion now, in the wild, with no civilization or stove nearby. If he didn''t adapt, he might as well try to survive on his mother''s milk.


    It didn''t taste bad in his mouth, the meat. As a matter of fact, it tasted great. This little run had come to an end and Kael discovered that raw meat actually tasted fine.


    His two sisters and brother, seeing Kael take the meat into his mouth and chew it without trying to spit it out. They also approached the splattered meat.


    They licked off the blood and nibbled on the body''s flesh.


    At the same time, their mother watched over them curiously. The smell of blood reached her nose and the other lionesses, but looking at the small prey, all of them instantly lost interest.

 Chapter 9: No Ordinary Lion

    Chapter 9: Chapter 9: No Ordinary LionThe dry season was approaching, Kael noticed. And with it came his worries.


    He was in his second month at this moment, he had also grown bigger. He and the other cubs had begun using the brown rats present as hunting practice until they began the real thing.


    Seeing Kael, a cub who always acted strange, eat the raw meat of the brown rat without any qualms, the others got into hunting these rodents too.


    All around the hill, cubs ran around in search of brown rats or their holes. They were determined to hunt these rats down.


    The lionesses were going out to hunt less and less. Before they went out almost every day, now, they go out once every two days. This naturally affected the milk supply.


    Rain hadn''t fallen in the last couple of days, the puddles were drying up, if not already dried up.


    It was usually at this point that lion cubs began dying. Only the toughest would survive the coming harshness of the wild.


    But now, the brown rats had temporarily solved the issue before it had even finished growing.


    Twenty cubs ran around the hill, from tree to tree, den to den, in search of a brown rat.


    The first day they started this, they were extremely clumsy, to the point that they didn''t get to catch a single rat. Those rodents always found a way to outsmart and outrun their pursuers.


    But with the help of peer pressure, those who gave up found themselves resuming the chase again. And it was like this that the cubs began to learn from their mistakes.


    The next day of the little hunts, the cubs were able to catch one brown rat after using their numbers to corner it and surround it.


    The cub who had first pounced on the rat didn''t even have the chance to drag it to its mother before it was disturbed by other lion cubs.


    The brown rat ended up being played with to death. After tussles and dragging, its body was opened up little by little for the cubs to snack on.


    Ever since then, their hunting had been filled with more and more successes, showing that the cubs were gradually learning from their mistakes without their mothers guiding them


    If not for the brown rats having an extensive network of holes and a powerful breeding ability, they would have been wiped out from the area after two weeks


    At least now, the cubs served as some sort of pest control, unknowingly preventing the rats from expanding into troublesome numbers. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael, not necessarily eager about it, participated in some of the hunts himself. Learning how to cooperate and understand each other without words was something he was still getting the hang of.


    In the hunts he was part of, he discovered that the alertness of a lion in hunting mode was no joke. Almost every move he made while in pursuit was observed by the cubs who all reacted in return after their own judgements.


    If a rat was too far away, the cubs would simply stop running but continue their pursuit in a casual stroll. At the same time, they would spread out, gradually encircling the rat by the time it wanted to break into a sprint again


    By the time they caught up to the rat, it would already be tired from all the running.


    If a rat was close yet dodging them all very well, they would simply pay attention and wait. They would wait for a few cubs to pursue it and tire it out, then the main attackers would burst out of their hiding and chase it till it was out of breath.


    If they saw a lion cub, who was known to be quite successful when catching these rats, become patient and hide in the grass, they would copy. They were learning combat tactics and patience.


    To Kael, it was incredible to observe all this happening in front of him.


    *ROAR!*


    A lion''s roar came from around the corner, Kael looked over and found it to be his father, the pride leader, who was walking beside another male.


    This male wasn''t as big as the pride leader, Kael could tell from afar. That was the pride leader''s brother.


    As they got closer, Kael appreciated the sight, this was one of the few times he got to see them walk together. Looking at their faces, one would easily be able to see the resemblance.


    Although, to outsiders, most lions looked alike, after having been with them for so long, Kael could easily spot differences between each lion and lioness.


    In his past life, some people who had never seen Asians, Africans, or other human subspecies they didn''t grow up with may feel like they all look alike and the same. Only after spending time interacting with each of them would they be able to see how much difference existed between all of them.


    That was how Kael saw the lion now. To him, every lion looked different. That was how he was able to spot the key resemblance between the pride leader and his brother.


    Like the pride leader, this male was also harder to find around at any time. Most times, Kael is reminded of his existence after hearing his roar in the distance.


    Sometimes he wondered why the pride leader allowed him to stay, was it sentiment? ''What if the brother tries to mate with the lionesses?''


    ''First of all, these guys need names I can''t be referring to them in such a crude way in my mind, I''d go mad.''


    The pride leader and his brother got close, too close. They were heading straight for Kael, or at least, he was in their way.


    Kael was shocked, this was one of those rare times he could get to see the pride leader so up close. Usually, the pride leader or his brother never likes any cubs coming near them.


    Kael had seen his father beat up his siblings and cousins just for playing around him.


    For some reason, he was very tolerant towards his older brother for now.


    As the pride leader came closer, his massive size cast a shadow over Kael''s cub form.


    The thick dark mane with edges that looked like it had been burnt. His eyes were fiery red with black pupils. His limbs, well-muscled, looked ready to explode with terrifying strength.


    His brother on the other hand, ''I''ll call you Uncle, for now, no use giving a good name,'' Uncle, was a bit smaller compared to the pride leader.


    His mane was also dark but mixed with brown fur, his body was a lighter shade of dirt yellow and his eyes were an ordinary yellow.


    This confused Kael a bit, Uncle looked like one of the capable dominant males he had seen on animal documentaries in his previous life.


    Uncle looked like the kind of lion that would have gone on to lead his own pride. There was nothing unusual about Uncle, the abnormal one was the Pride leader.


    Standing next to his brother, one could see just how much difference there was between an ordinary male lion and the pride leader.


    Kael stepped out of the way hurriedly, the two lions did not even give him a second glance, although he was sure that they noticed him.


    ''Where are they going?'' Kael wondered. As if to answer his question, his mother ran over to him with one of his sisters in her mouth.


    Behind her were his brother and sister, following with innocent excitement. Mother gestured for Kael to follow, which at first, he didn''t understand.


    His mother had walked some distance before she turned around to see that Kael was just staring at them, confused.


    She gave a small roar, one that called for him. Only then did Kael begin following them.


    Kael heard similar roars all over the area, mothers were calling their cubs and they were all following the two males in front.


    ''Where are we going?''

 Chapter 10: Giving Names

    Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Giving NamesKael followed the lions and lionesses who formed a straight line. The pride leader and Uncle led from the front, the lionesses were right behind them.


    The oldest lioness, also a mother of two female cubs, was right behind the pride leader. Kael called her Big Aunt because she was the ''oldest'' looking female around.


    One of her daughters was a juvenile while the other was one of the four sub-adults in the pride. Kael guessed that both daughters would probably join the pride as the pride leader''s consorts at some point.


    Kael walked behind his mother, on his two sides were his brother and sister. His other sister was walking in front of their mother.


    Kael looked at his sister carefully. She had smooth brown fur and spots on her limbs that would fade away as she grew. Her eyes were reddish brown, bearing one sort of resemblance to their father.


    She was also the most playful of all the cubs. Unfortunately, her plays tended to be violent and usually ended up with bite and scratch marks.


    ''I''ll call you, Eidel,'' Kael thought in his mind. Eidel of course could not read his mind, she just continued strolling beside them.


    His brother of the same age on the other hand was what one would call an unnecessarily aggressive animal. He was always quiet and tended to keep to himself in most cases. But when it came to things he wanted but couldn''t have, it always ended up in a fight.


    He didn''t even play much, he just straight up bared his teeth and claws whenever he was dissatisfied.


    ''You''ll be Bardu,'' Kael named him.


    Then he looked at his mother. Her long tail swished from left to right, carrying a minute breeze with it.


    Kael''s mother had always been very gentle and very overprotective of her cubs, especially Kael. Kael had often seen her observing him when he was resting on his boulder or doing something else away from her.


    At first, it creeped him out, but he got used to the fact that someone was watching over him wherever he was.


    Even now, he was certain that although her back was turned on them, her senses weren''t.


    ''In this world, you''re my mother, I''ll call you Nalii,'' He concluded.


    These lions didn''t know a transmigrator had bestowed names upon them, not that it would have mattered to them at this point.


    As the lions and lionesses walked across the plains, Kael took his time to observe his surroundings. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was nice to be away from the den finally. There were indeed new sceneries that he wouldn''t have had the chance to see.


    The grasses, especially the grasses, were taller than the one he saw back at the hill area. Some of the tall grass were green and some were already turning yellow from the lack of water.


    Kael also got to see some animals, mostly herbivores. Animals like zebras, wildebeests, and buffalo were common.


    Most of these animals were only seen from a distance as they would never intentionally make the mistake of coming close to the pride of lions.


    Kael could see how all the animals maintained a far distance. He was bewildered by the wildebeest nature the most.


    The wildebeests lived in large herds that easily had numbers of hundreds, they could be even close to a thousand.


    But despite their advantage in numbers, they were so afraid of the lions that they ran as soon as they saw them.


    It was herd mentality at its finest. Kael also wondered why the lions and lionesses were not attempting to hunt any animals, they just kept walking like they did not care about their food.


    The grasses were tall enough for the lions to take cover and stalk any prey at the moment, yet they walked with their body exposed for all to see. Kael felt that even if they were hungry, they probably had other plans.


    *ROAR!*


    Another thing that scared away any potential prey was the jolly roars of Kael''s older brother, ''Pavel'', and his three friends.


    Those four sub-adults were truly a pain in the ass for the entire pride. They liked playing with their prey when hunting and were always making noise or disturbing the other lionesses.


    Unfortunately, they were still needed, when the pride usually went hunting or on patrol of the territory, the sub-adults were usually the ones to stay behind to watch the cubs.


    It wasn''t that they wanted to stay behind though, but the sub-adults were just too lazy to go out hunting. They''d rather sleep away at the dens than hunt for their food.


    In this area, the lions have been proven to be thoughtful and caring for their own. At least, Kael has seen his mother, Big Aunt, and other lionesses bring pieces of meat in their jaws.


    One time, his mother brought back the neck and head of a zebra for Pavel. It was her way of appreciation for watching over the cubs.


    But Kael knew it wouldn''t last. The cubs were growing and they would soon be eager to follow their mothers on hunting or their father on a patrol. There would be no cubs to watch over at that time.


    Pavel and his buddies would either have to contribute in some other way or face the consequences.


    After more than an hour of walking, the pride eventually made it to their destination.


    Kael was amazed, he had scented a strange new smell as they drew closer but he didn''t know what it was. It felt like his nose was being barraged with different smells yet one stood out the most.


    It was the smell of water.


    The pride stood on an elevated piece of land with the pride leader at the forefront. From this place, Kael got a good look at where they were.


    Before them was a river, not just any river, but a very vast river. And at the river bank were different animals, carnivores and herbivores, drinking water under some strange agreement.


    Unbeknownst to them, the ultimate masters of the wild had arrived, and the look the lionesses gave these animals wasn''t one of negligence like they had done on their way here.


    No, now their claws were out and their eyes widened, they could make a move at any moment.

 Chapter 11: The Hunt

    Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The HuntThe river water was murky, reflecting the afternoon sun high in the sky.


    The creatures that found safety in drinking from this river did so because the beasts who called this river home were quite welcoming.


    Unlike the documentation that showed animals struggling to drink some water from a crocodile-infested river, this river contained herds of hippopotamus.


    These large water-dwelling beasts frolicked around in the water. Occasionally, they would open their large maws, exposing their incredibly large teeth to the animals drinking from the river.


    With such an impressive set of teeth and jaws, anyone who had never seen a hippopotamus would assume that these magnificent animals were meat devourers.


    After all, their large canines and incisors which were more than one foot in length each, looked designed to reap things to shreds.


    But these hippos that had a color range from reddish grey to brown to brownish grey and just grey, were all herbivores. Those large teeth were meant for something else.


    After observing the lot of animals present, Big Aunt stepped forward. She cast her sharp gaze upon the land, seemingly searching for something.


    Finally, she rested her sight on a large buffalo that had just finished drinking from the river.


    This buffalo stood out as it was still far away from its herd. It had obviously come along with the herd of buffalos to the river to drink some water, but apparently, it was a slow drinker or it had quenched its thirst late.


    Either way, it had drawn the attention of the eldest lioness. Big Aunt turned to her hunting sisters, aware that they had all taken notice of the buffalo she was looking at.


    The Pride leader, seeing this, gave a little growl before walking away with his brother who followed behind diligently.


    They began to split up. There was a lush tree nearby that looked similar to the one Kael sees at the den. The cubs were led there to wait under its shade by two lionesses and the sub-adults.


    The ten other lionesses including Nalii, Kael''s mother, began to spread out. They hid in the tall shrubs or behind elevated dirt bumps or rocks, calmly observing.


    They moved methodically, some silently approaching the buffalo head-on, the others setting themselves in such a position that they would be able to intercept the buffalo from joining the herd if needed.


    The Pride leader and Uncle disappeared from view. Wherever they were, they would be watching everything that was about to unfold.


    Kael was full of curiosity, he wanted to see what was going on but he was too small and the grass around him was too tall. The nearest boulder was so far away that it would be considered a danger zone.


    Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. He looked up at the big tree. ''All cats can climb right?'' He asked himself.


    Not waiting any second longer, he immediately went to work. He jumped at the tree trunk and grabbed hold of it with his claws. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His little claws were now strong enough to help him hold his weight on the side of the tree. This action came naturally to Kael, he felt like he already knew how to climb a tree before he had even started.


    At that moment, there were multiple roars and a lot of commotion. The lionesses had already made a move.


    Kael felt the urgency and climbed faster. As he climbed, tree barks fell and hit some cubs on the head, earning their attention. They looked up curiously at Kael, wondering what this strange cub was up to.


    Kael finally reached the nearest branch that was at the top of the tree. He quickly stabilized himself and faced the direction the lionesses had gone to.


    He was just in time to see the chase begin. Currently, the buffalo was running fast and it was running towards the herd. As it ran, it let out cries for help, but the herd members just stood there, watching, not daring to be a hero.


    Right behind the running buffalo, chasing its tail, were three lionesses.


    Kael was amazed at the speed they were going, the lionesses were impressively fast. But Kael was afraid they would be too late.


    The buffalo was closing up on the herd, once that happened, the herd would not make it easy for the lions. They might be scared to be a hero but they had confidence in their numbers to fight back once the lions got close.


    Just when he thought this would be a failed hunt, four lionesses jumped out of the shrubs that stood between the herd and the running buffalo.


    The buff was surprised, it tried to stop itself from running but the inertia acted otherwise. The large hooved black herbivore toppled to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.


    This was extremely dangerous for the buffalo, and Kael felt the tension. This turn of events had given the lionesses behind enough time to catch up to their target.


    Sensing its death closing in, the buffalo shot up from the ground one last time. It picked up its speed, attempting to ram into the lionesses in its way with its horns.


    Alas, it was too slow and the lionesses were too prepared. The buffalo had barely traveled more than ten meters before it felt something jump on its back.


    It didn''t bother to look back as it already knew what it was. At the same time, while the lioness was biting and clawing its way on the back of the buffalo, another lioness was behind, swiping and snapping at the hind legs.


    That wasn''t enough though. The buffalo caught up to the four lionesses but now ignored them, it was panicking and had no time to try to fight back. It just wanted to get back to the safety of its herd.


    One of the four lionesses that had interceptered the buffalo, made a powerful leap.


    Her claws dug into the buffalo''s shoulder and forelegs to give her stability. This was Big Aunt.


    She clearly showed her superiority and experience when it came to hunting. Her fangs found its way to the buffalo''s neck. Despite the tumble from the running buffalo, she still managed to clamp down on its windpipe ruthlessly.


    The buffalo, not ready to give up, continued running, even though it was quickly running out of breath. It wasn''t ready to give up, not yet.


    It had always seen its fellow herd members get hunted by predators but it had never thought it would meet the same fate.


    As Big Aunt had her fangs pierce into its throat, the other lionesses began pouncing on the slowed-down buffalo, using their weight to bring it down.


    The vultures circled above, aware of the bleak and agonizing future for this creature.


    Eventually, the buffalo was brought to its knees. It was being suffocated and its hund was torn open, exposing its flesh to the open air and losing blood in the process.


    Its eyes began to grow hazy. The pain it felt all over its body made it want to scream for help, yet it couldn''t try to without ripping Big Aunt away from his throat.


    Finally, the buffalo fell to its side one last time, defeated, never to get up again.

 Chapter 12: Mother’s Instinct

    Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Mother''s InstinctAll that transpired happened some distance away from the river. The buffalo was taken down some three hundred meters away from the river bank.


    A lot of Hippos and other bystanding animals saw everything that happened. From the lion roars to the buffalo cries, they heard everything.


    The buffalo herd that had about a hundred members moved restlessly. They were torn between going after their companion to chase away the lions or just ignoring the whole thing.


    Eventually, the biggest female of the herd, the buffalo matriarch, gave a sorrowful grunt before turning away.


    Seeing their leader abandoning the downed buffalo, the other members took no action to show reluctance. They all followed the matriarch to wherever was their next destination.


    Kael watched everything unfold with the intent to learn. He was aware that these buffalos would soon forget that something like this ever happened and go back to their regular lives.


    *ROAR!*


    It was at this time that the pride leader showed himself, appearing with his brother out of a bush.


    Apparently, he had been watching, waiting for a moment that would require his heavy-handed methods.


    The Pride leader made his way to the kill, where the other lionesses were already beginning to rip into the body.


    The vultures above had already begun diving down. None of them dared to near the fallen buffalo, not yet.


    As soon as the pride leader arrived in front of the dead buffalo, he dug into the carcass. His brother also joined in, tearing off his share from the hind legs while the pride leader went for the ribs region.


    While eating, they didn''t forget to chase away the other lionesses. Uncle in particular was very active when it came to chasing away his brother''s consorts.


    The pride leader didn''t really have to do anything, his threatening presence and the low growls he emitted were enough to prevent anyone from coming close to him.


    Kael was just realizing how big the pride leader was now that he compared him in size to the buffalo. He was really large, Kael estimated that a lion so big would be able to bring down a bigger buffalo with its weight alone, given that it could catch it first.


    And a lion that big would definitely have a huge appetite.


    Confirming Kael''s thoughts, after the pride leader was satisfied, he stood up, exposing a large gap almost half the size of the entire buffalo''s rib section. Its insides were cleanly eaten out, leaving a hollow space within.


    Organs like the heart, liver, and kidney, had already been eaten away.


    As the pride leader left, his brother followed him quickly. He was not the pride leader, the respect the lionesses gave him was only limited to when he was with the pride leader. If Uncle didn''t follow his brother, he would have to face a painful awakening from the hungry lionesses.


    As soon as the two lions left, the lionesses instantly pounced on the carcass. The mothers among them ripped the dead animals to pieces as they ate their share. One or two vultures would land on the dead buffalo to tear off a strip of meat before flying away.


    The mother lionesses took the pieces of meat they had reserved and walked back to the cubs one after the other.


    Kael, seeing his mother coming to them, carefully climbed down from the tree to join the other cubs.


    The cubs had already gotten excited after seeing their mothers coming to them.


    As Nalii came closer, Kael saw that the meat she had brought was from the neck of the buffalo. Beside her, another lioness had the large bloody head of the buffalo in her jaws.


    Kael''s older brother, Pavel, also grew excited to see Nalii. But the meat Nalii was having in her mouth wasn''t going to be enough for all of them.


    When she came before her children, she dropped the blood-soaked meat amid the little cubs, subtly ignoring Pavel.


    Kael, Eidel, Burdo, and his last sister who he called Ruda, dug into the meat. Kael was not as rushed as they were, even after so long, he still preferred to eat with elegance in mind. Although the blood that began staining his fine fur slowly removed any image of elegance he wanted to keep.


    Pavel panicked. He was hungry but there was no space in this food ratio for him to have one. Not having a choice, he growled at Ruda to move away. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ruda didn''t move, she too wanted to have a satisfying chow down of this succulent meat. Besides, her mother was there, nothing to fear.


    Pavel was having none of it, he didn''t like the idea of someone eating while he was starving. Without giving a second or intelligent thought, he attacked Ruda. He snapped his teeth at her and used his paws to aggress her away.


    He was already about to bite her when a paw with its claws sticking out flashed across his face. The force of the attack was such that Pavel didn''t even bother to check who it was, he just made as much distance between the attacker and his face as fast as possible.


    The owner of the paw was none other than Nalii, his mother. She bared her teeth at her eldest son while covering her four cubs.


    Kael stopped eating to observe this closely, he didn''t know if his mother was defending him because he was still young or if she was fed up with Pavel.


    He hoped that the care she showed for him was not just instinctual, but there was no way to know. Pavel must have also gotten the same treatment when he was little, yet he was here, receiving a strange hostility from his mother.


    Pavel himself had begun to act with a sense of entitlement that annoyed the pride members. His laziness was only being pardoned due to circumstances and his value with watching over the cubs.


    Out of the four sub-adults in the pride, Pavel was one of the two males, and the other two were females.


    For the females, it was very likely that they would just join the pride or form another pride with any male they fancied in the future. A reverse pride was possible but very unlikely.


    The males on the contrary would either have to challenge the pride leader or get exiled. They could even die in the process of challenging their pride leader.


    Seeing the leader of this Hot Lion pride, it was very certain that most lions would lose in a fight with him.


    Pavel had a difficult future ahead of him, he just didn''t know it yet.


    Filled with indignance, Pavel turned away, not daring to challenge his mother. He followed other sub-adults who had also been chased away to the buffalo carcass.


    If they hurried, they would be able to fight for scraps with the vultures.


    Kael lowered his head again to continue chewing on the meat under the watch of his mother. His mind however churned.


    ''Pending the awakening of my Primordial Lion powers, I have to create a bond with the pride members. The bond must reach beyond just instincts, it must be genuine, it must...''

 Chapter 13: Reflection

    Chapter 13: Chapter 13: ReflectionAt the river, the lion pride had come to drink after their meal. Some animals were still present at the river bank, but they created as much distance between them and these predators as much as possible.


    Kael stood at the very edge of the murky river. The hippos were some distance away and clustered together in one large mass of grey and dirty water.


    ''Is this how I look like now?'' Kael asked himself. He stared at his reflection in the water.


    He could see that he shared some resemblance to the Pride leader and his mother. But there was also a distinct uniqueness that appeared the more he looked.


    This uniqueness would only be noticed by someone who lived among lions.


    Another thing to note was the golden-edged fur he had. His brown fur looked like it was in the process of turning into fine gold. No doubt, this was an effect of transitioning into the primordial lion.


    Another thing was his golden eyes. When he observed himself in the water puddles back at the den, he saw his eyes as being brownish with a hint of gold in them.


    Now, he had a pair of beautiful gold irises with black pupils encased within them. If not that he was seeing it now, he wouldn''t know the changes. So far he did not notice his vision change for the better.


    Kael bared his teeth so that he could check for any oddities. The other lion cubs who were nearby looked at Kael strangely.


    Why was this cub showing his teeth to the river, it looked comical.


    Oddities were also found in his teeth. He noticed that they were starting to have a metallic gold glint on them. They were also extremely pointy, like a little like and they would draw blood.


    He had felt that the way hetored meat had become easier and easier but he had assumed it was because his jaw muscles were getting stronger. He had no idea that his teeth were not spared from the transformation.


    ''sigh''


    Kael sat down, the setting sun cast his lonely shadow over the land while painting a beautiful picture on the body of the water.


    The sound of twigs snapping and water splashing slowly got vague in his ears. Kael slowly lost himself in thought again.


    Times like this, times where it was all peaceful, these times made him wonder if he was just dreaming, maybe he would sleep one day and wake up as a human.


    These times made him reflect on who he was, who he is, and who he was becoming.


    A second look at his reflection in the water and his eyes revealed to him the face of a human. The human face looked exactly like his face from his previous life.


    The two faces, one bred in civilization, one bred in the wilderness, one soul. The eyes stared into each''s own. Slowly, the human face faded away, leaving behind the face of a lion cub.


    ''There may still be a possibility that all this lion stuff has not been real, I could very much be dreaming,'' His mind flew farther and farther from his body.


    ''But then what? If he woke up as a human, and all this had been just a dream, I would have to go back to his boring, regret-filled, antisocial life.''


    But here, he may no longer be a human, but he had a chance to live a better life. A life way more fulfilling than before.


    ''And what is so special about being human anyway,'' Kael thought, trying to comfort himself. His tail swished from left to right, drawing marks on the wet ground.


    ''I''m stronger, faster, and going to be bigger than any human could ever be. I didn''t lose my intelligence, instead, I feel like I''m getting smarter. Humanity could not offer this to me, so why should I desire it,''


    Out of all the noise from twigs breaking under some animals feet, one in particular drew his attention.


    His ears perked up and turned to the direction of the sound. It was farther than others.


    Kael looked around him, the lionesses were spread out and too far away from the cubs that were playing, the closest adults were Pavel and his buddies.


    Suddenly, Kael felt that something was wrong. That feeling that one would get when they were being looked at, Kael was having it at this point.


    The hair on his body stood on end and his spine ran cold.


    He immediately looked to his left, in the direction of where he got that piercing feeling from.


    There was nothing but bushes and trees more than five hundred meters away. It was getting dark and he couldn''t see what was behind the vegetation well. The distance was too far away for his natural lion cub''s standard night vision to see clearly.


    Subconsciously, his golden-hued claws shot out and dug into the wet ground. He stood up, his ear perked up and his limbs apart. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He stared intensely at the bushes, prepared to run if needed. He was not seeing anything but his instincts were telling him that danger lurked around the corner.


    *BARK!*


    There was a loud dog-like bark.


    *HIHIHIHIHIHIHIIIAHIEE!*


    Followed by crazed high-pitched animalistic laughter. The laughter drew the attention of a few lionesses who looked in that direction. The cubs also looked at the bushes curiously.


    *HIHIHIHIHIHIHIIIAHIEE!*


    Then the crazed laughter was followed by another, and another, another. And it was getting louder.


    Kael''s eyes widened from genuine fear, he was perfectly aware of the kind of creatures that produced such sounds.


    He snapped his head to the right to see the lionesses including his mother frantically running towards them at top speed. They would be here in two seconds or more.


    ''Not enough time'' Kael''s mind spurned with pressure. He snapped his head to his left again. What he saw made his blood run cold.


    At some point, two hyenas had stepped out of the bushes and were running towards the cubs.


    Behind them, hyenas were bursting out of the bushes one after the other. A rough speedy calculation and Kael estimated that the hyenas would reach the cubs before the lionesses.


    Not wasting the second he had left to make a decision, he immediately started running towards them with all his might.


    It was as if the sudden burst of speed from this cub angered the crazed creatures who were coming.


    The laughter got louder and louder and out of the bushes burst out dozens of hyenas.


    ''Almost there,'' Kael had almost reached the safety of the incoming lionesses. Just a few more meters from his mother.


    For reasons very much irrelevant to safety, Kael decided to turn his head and take a look behind him.


    Right there, a large spotted hyena had its snapping jaws a few inches away from his butt.

 Chapter 14: Hyenas

    Chapter 14: Chapter 14: HyenasSaliva dripped endlessly from the mouth of the spotted hyena. It could almost taste the cub it was about to catch.


    It was so focused on pursuing this little lion that it failed to see its companions halt their crazed laughter. If failed to see its companions come to a chaotic stop.


    Just a little bit more. Every time it tried to bite the cub but missed, the collision of his two jaws would send a crisp sound. This sound further frightened the cub, pushing it to the limit its paws could ever go.


    *BAM!*


    A faint dirt-brown blurry figure flashed past the cub and slammed into the hyena. Kael didn''t stop running, but he turned to see his mother pin the hyena to the ground with her fangs already digging into the hyena''s neck.


    He didn''t stop running until he was far away, he quickly hid under a bush that had enough space under it for him to conveniently hide his whole body.


    Only then did he take a good look at the bloody chaos.


    Nalii quickly crushed the windpipe of the hyena in one bite. She didn''t stop to inspect but burst out with speed to her other cubs.


    She didn''t check if Kael was safe, but that she had eliminated the immediate threat was enough for her. Eidel, Ruda, and Burdo were still at the river bank.


    The other lionesses quickly arrived at the bank to protect their children but lives had already been lost.


    The hyenas outnumbered the lions three to one, maybe more. They reached the river bank before the lionesses and had already begun a massacre.


    One hyena caught a lion cub in her mouth before she could process what was going on. The hyena began shaking his head rapidly from left to right, tearing up the little cub in the process.


    Blood splattered everywhere as the hyena began munching on the dead cub. A sorrowful roar from a lioness spread out followed by the hyena being tackled to the ground by the mother of the cub.


    Pavel and his buddies had run away as soon as they saw the sheer amount of hyenas coming towards them. Perhaps, if they had stayed to defend the cub, the casualties would have been little. But they would have faced a high risk of perishing under the attacks of the hyenas.


    These hyenas were by no means as big as a lioness, talk less of a lion. The biggest among them, a female, was almost the same shoulder height as Big Aunt.


    Kael watched as two hyenas fought over one cub. One bit onto the neck while the other bit the legs. They dragged and dragged until the cub was torn into two halves.


    Big Aunt found herself surrounded, her little cub was under her, right beneath her belly. She used her body to defend her cub from the attacks of the hyena. Her juvenile and sub-adult children were nowhere to be seen.


    The hyenas were ruthless, four of them covered her on all sides, seeking a way to bring down both the mother and child.


    They would take bites at Big Aunt''s rear side, injuring her and making her turn around repeatedly to fend herself from the attackers.


    What made it worse was that one of the four attackers was the hyena matriarch. Her bites were slowly opening large wounds on Big Aunt''s body.


    This was the same situation with almost all the mothers. Nalii was busy protecting Eidel, Ruda, and Brudo, from two hyenas. On a normal day, she would have nothing to fear from these crazy animals, but now that she was on the defensive, she found herself in a tight spot.


    The only lionesses that had it easy were those that had no children. They went on the offensive with their full strength, easily going toe to toe with two hyenas at once.


    But Kael could see from his hiding spot that if the battle continued like this, life would continue to be lost among the cubs.


    Eventually, one lioness would also succumb to injuries sooner or later.


    ''Where is the pride leader for fuck sake,'' Kael thought anxiously as he saw the blood trickling down his mother''s shoulder.


    *ROOAAAAAARR!*


    *ROOAAAR!*


    As if to answer his wishes, two powerful angry roars sounded from behind. Looking back, Kael saw the pride leader and Uncle rushing to the battlefield with killing intent flashing in their eyes.


    Within the second of their appearance, their large frames blurred past Kael, followed by a hot breeze that made him wonder how something so big could move so fast.


    The two brothers reached the hyenas in a jiffy, bringing with them a rain of slaughter. One slap from the pride leader to the head and a cracking sound would echo out. Not only was his one attack enough to break the neck of any hyena, but it also cracked their skulls.


    He was truly magnificent, he ran through the hyenas like a wrecking ball. Those that came too close to his face would get bitten to death.


    Some hyenas managed to jump on him from his blindspots but found that his defenses were too effective.


    His mane was so thick that they found it impossible to land a solid bite on his neck and shoulders. His regular fur and skin were also incredibly tough, their canines couldn''t penetrate it.


    In short moments, the pride leader had taken care of the hyenas around him and ran straight towards Big Aunt.


    His brother was struggling a bit though. Uncle wasn''t as powerful as the pride leader, he still needed more time to dispatch the hyenas. He still had to be careful, if the hyenas gathered in him, he would be torn to pieces.


    The appearance of the two lions instantly turned the tide of the battle. It no longer seemed like the pride was outnumbered, now it looked like the pack of hyenas were at a disadvantage. The power of the Pride leader was clear to see.


    The morale of the hyenas instantly plummeted with some of them starting to cowardly edge away from the battle.


    Big Aunt was on her last legs, riddled with bloody scratch marks. She searched for a way to run away with her cub but she was surrounded from all sides.


    When she heard the roar of the pride leader, the one who she depended on the most, she became excited. Despite running out of stamina, she found the will to hold on a little longer.


    Like a meteor, the pride leader rammed into two of the attacking hyenas. This gave Big Aunt room to breathe as she quickly picked up her cub in her mouth before running away.


    Two consecutive sounds of bone cracking and the two hyenas fell with twisted necks.


    The third hyena ran away, frightened. The size of this lion was too intimidating and its companions were dead. What was the point of fighting if not to throw his life away?


    The last hyena, the matriarch of this hyena pack, stood her ground. She growled and bared her teeth at the pride leader who did the same.


    The pride leader might be bigger than the hyena leader by a lot, but she was fearless. Her eyes were filled with hatred and ferocity, and so were the pride leader''s eyes. They circled each other, their claws ready to do the utmost damage.


    Time seemed to stand still as Kael held his breath. It seemed like forever would pass before one of them made a move. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, they lunged at each other at the same time.

 Chapter 15: Hot Victory

    Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Hot VictoryThe hyena leader was able to match the pride leader in speed and force. When they collided, with claws out and ready, the hyena didn''t move back as Kael thought she would.


    Despite being smaller, she could actually manage to hold her own against this extraordinary pride leader when it came to strength. Obviously, this hyena was not ordinary herself.


    The pride leader threw his paws at the hyena in rapid succession, intending to tear off the face of this hyena. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The hyenas in return dodged or thanked the blows at specific times. Clearly, she was experienced with fighting lions and was also aware of how strong she was.


    The hyena too would bite at the lion and sometimes slash out with her razor-sharp claws. Her front limbs weren''t as mobile as a lion''s, so she used her jaws more often than the pride leader.


    But even when she managed to land a bite, she found out that he had a tough hide. It felt like she was biting a slightly softer back of a crocodile.


    The tussle went on for minutes, with the hyena sometimes creating distance between her and her foe, frustrating him, before rushing at him again with unhidden killing intent.


    By this time, most of the hyenas had run away. Those that were left were either dead or would soon be. For hyenas, loyalty wasn''t their strong forte.


    This turn of events didn''t come without a price though. Kael could only count about eleven cubs still standing out of the original twenty. He had a strong feeling that the others were among the piles of torn flesh and blood puddles.


    This fight had burned into the night, leaving the pride with the moonlight and their companion as they mourned.


    The commotion had driven away all the animals that were near the river. Even the large hippos had swam to the other end of the river, not out of fear, but out of caution.


    It was only now that Kael had the confidence to step out of his hiding spot. Just in time to see his mother running towards him with his siblings behind her, safe and sound.


    Kael was still cautious and alertness was high, the pride leader was still in a fight after all. They were not completely out of danger.


    Kael looked at the battle scene which had escalated beyond ordinary understanding.


    He didn''t know when but the pride leader''s claws were now giving a hot reddish glow, like metal that had been heated to melting point.


    The air twisted any time he waved his claws, leaving a red trail behind. Not just his claws, but his eyes also let out a fiery glow that increased the level of intimidation power he had.


    Now the hyena matriarch had fear rising within her. This was the first time she was fighting this kind of lion and she had already seen that she was on the losing side.


    She kept on trying to bite at the lion but it was either she missed or the bite left him unfazed.


    .


    The lionesses were gathering, surrounding them on all sides. They intended to join the fight to help their pride leader out, but it seemed that would be completely unnecessary.


    Another effort was made by the matriarch to bite at the pride leader''s shoulder, the jaw muscle in her mouth twitched.


    The pride leader, expecting this, immediately swung his claws decisively at the incoming face.


    *SCREEEEEEEE!* The hyena cried from the agonizing pain.


    The hot claws effortlessly tore into the hyena''s face, ripping a good chunk of the left side of her face off.


    .


    The force of the slap also sent the hyena flying to the side, where the lionesses there took the opportunity to bite at her.


    As though her life flashed before her eyes, the hyena stood up, using her strength to push the two lionesses away, and broke out of the encirclement. Half of her face was bloody and one could see the skull outline.


    She slowly backed away while giving the pride leader and his consorts one last look of hatred. She had just one eye remaining and that eye portrayed just how heavy her hatred was for the pride leader.


    It was now that Kael was confident that this beef had a history to it, one he wasn''t too interested in knowing about.


    After giving one final threatening bark, the hyena turned around and ran away in the direction that most of her kin had escaped to.


    The battle was over, Kael hoped.


    Kael walked over to the battle scene, his mother behind him. His siblings had lost their drive to play with what they were seeing.


    Among the corpses of hyenas, there were also corpses of lion cubs. Most of these corpses were torn and incomplete, shedding light on the horror the cubs must have experienced in their final moments.


    The little limbs of the link cubs were everywhere, soaked in their own blood and decorated by the spilled organs.


    Kael stared intently at the chewed-up head of a cub. He knew this cub very well. Back in the den, this cub was one of the most active hunters of the brown rat.


    He had always been aware that not all the cubs would survive to adulthood, but he never expected it to be this intense.


    It was no wonder why there were only four sub-adults in the entire pride.


    Kael could very much have been one of them among the dead. He was just lucky to be able to identify the threat as quickly as possible. If his mother had not saved him at the right time, he would be a goner by now.


    The question on his mind now was why these hyenas would risk their lives to do something like this. Hyenas and lions didn''t mix, he remembered that from the animal documentaries, but wasn''t this too much?


    It felt like they were trying to take revenge and at the same time eliminate future threats... ''Oh,'' Kael came to a conclusion but it was merely an assumption.


    Looking at the blood under the night sky, Kael recognized his powerless status as clear as day.


    ''I can''t even defend myself, I have to rely on others to defend me...''


    If he had fists he would clench them to express his annoyance. Today, that desire Kael had been holding back on now had a reason to come to light.


    Within Kael, an ambitious heart solidified his will as he stared intensely at the pride leader who raised his head high.


    The pride leader roared, announcing his victory to the wilderness and all the creatures with it.


    Seeing this, Kael grunted, ''I must make sure I become as powerful, if not more than the pride leader,'' He thought to himself with a heart full of determination.

 Chapter 16: Lustful Bethel

    Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Lustful BethelWithin the mysterious space that had no light or darkness, yet had color.


    The invisible will of Kael was present, silently observing the eight golden figures.


    His consciousness wandered among them, taking note of the uniqueness that each of these previous Primordial Lions possessed.


    His focus was mostly on Bethel, the second Primordial lion, and Noel, the last of the eight primordial lions.


    Bethel was the immediate successor to Alan. He was born at a time were he wouldn''t be the only lion existing. Surely his perspective and lifestyle should have had some influence on the present-day lions.


    The way his mane seemed to have been combed back and gelled out made it look like he had lived an extraordinarily luxurious life.


    His eyes were not only filled with arrogance but also exuded an aura of affluence. Even his claws seemed well taken care of.


    Alas, he remained frozen in his position, unable to leak any information on his life.


    It has been slightly less than a year since Kael got the primordial lion inheritance and exactly a year since he was born as a lion.


    He had undergone significant physical transformations that had made him stand out from other lions and cubs. But he found it impossible to access any memories from these illusory figures.


    No matter what he did, it was in vain, not one glimpse.


    Today he decided to try again, just like every other day. His will brushed up on the figure of Bethel, just like he always did.


    At first, there was no reaction for some minutes, then Kael decided to try again. His will touched upon the golden lion but nothing still happened. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was how it always went. Kael would spend hours trying to access the memories only to fail at the end of the day. Regardless, he would wake up the next day, eat whatever was available, then resume his work in the memories.


    He was finding it hard to keep track of time in the absence of those digital clocks he was used to. The only reason he knew he was exactly one year old today was because of the tallies he drew on his favorite boulder.


    As his will brushed up on Bethel''s golden figure again, something changed. Like a ripple, a colorless wave spread out, engulfing Kael''s conciseness.


    The next thing he knew, his consciousness was transferred to a third-person point of view, at the same time, he felt like he was looking through the eyes of this handsome golden lion.


    Kael found himself inside a vast beautiful cave. This cave was filled with magnificent glowing crystals that spread multicolored light from the walls to the ceiling.


    Within this cave were multiple lionesses of different kinds and colors, lying on the ground lazily or doing something else.


    There were lionesses with red fur and a flaming tongue at the end of their tail, there were lionesses with dirt brown skin, and there were lionesses that were so muscled they seemed as if they were about to explode with strength at any moment.


    There were even some that had the appearance of human women with distinguishing features like the ears and tails.


    A single glance and Kael could count more than three hundred lionesses. For three hundred lionesses to be gathered so casually in one place was very unnatural. Even the largest prides would never have such a large amount of lionesses.


    And among these lionesses was one single lion. One single male, in the midst of these females.


    Fine light gold, almost blonde, fur. A well-kept mane that was just a darker shade of gold wrapped around his neck, head, and shoulders.


    Everything about this lion screamed prestigiousness.


    Now that Kael looked carefully, he understood what was happening. This was an orgy.


    In this memory, Bethel was having a sex marathon of some sort with these lionesses.


    Kael finally understood that nagging feeling he had about Bethel, this was a fuck boy. And from the looks of it, all the lionesses were looking forward to being under him.


    Even the lionesses in human form were crawling toward him with pleading gazes while saliva drooled from their lecherous mouths.


    Bethel would, with a lustful grin filled with sharp golden fangs, hump tirelessly on one lioness for hours, spilling his lion sperm inside her before moving on to the next lioness.


    By the time he was done with one lioness, another one was crawling and arranging herself between his legs.


    Since the only thing Kael had here was his consciousness, he could not make any facial expressions or utter any word.


    He could only look on unbearably. It felt like torture to his imaginary eyes.


    Finally, Bethel was done mating all the lionesses in the cave. Almost all the lionesses lay on the ground, tired, with eyes turned into their heads. The humanoid lionesses had lustful smiles that expressed their satisfaction.


    In a flash of golden light, Bethel transformed from a lion to a tall handsome naked man. He had a satisfied smile on his strikingly perfect face.


    With his long golden hair and well-toned body, he would be considered the epitome of human physiology, except he wasn''t a human.


    At the top sides of his head were a pair of lion ears. His golden eyes contrasted his tan skin and his golden tail remained, swinging from left to right behind him.


    ''It is my duty to ensure the expansion of the lion race.'' A foreign thought found itself within the mind of Kael.


    This wasn''t his thought, rather it was Bethel''s. And the way he thought was devoid of shame.


    Kael could feel that the phrase ''my duty'' was also synonymous with ''a good excuse'' in Bethel''s head.


    Above all things, Kael could feel the aura of power emanating from Bethel. He looked lustful and arrogant, yes, but he also seemed to have the power to back his lifestyle.


    ''Maybe...'' Kael thought, ''Maybe Bethel is responsible for the propagation of the lion race. It''s possible.


    There couldn''t have been that many lions after Alan died. Bethel was probably glad to spread his seed to all the female lions he could come across.


    But, if he has so many lionesses coming to him, what about the other lions...''


    The last thought of Kael was interrupted by multiple loud bangs followed by dozens upon dozens of roars.


    The cave shook and stalactites fell, hitting some lionesses in the process. Strangely, the stalactites were not strong enough to kill any of the lionesses present.


    At this moment, the roar of an angry man broke into the cave.


    "BETHEL! SHOW YOURSELF!"


    But with all the commotion brewing outside his cave, Bethel chose to lay his head on the body of a snow-white lioness, using her body as a pillow.


    "You may come in." His voice was soft to the ear and came with a deep tone. It commanded authority and nothing but obedience.


    Dozens of lions ran into the cave, as though they had indeed been waiting for Bethel''s permission to enter.


    "What.." One of the lions, blue in color with lightning oozing off his mane, began talking, his mouth and vocal cords somehow able to let him speak. But his words were cut short by the scene within the cave.


    Everywhere he looked, lionesses lay on the cold ground, every one of them having a stupid grin on their face.


    Among these consort were his daughters and sisters, all of whom had chosen to join Bethel''s pride as soon as he took over his own.


    Now, these lionesses all smelled like lion jizz.


    Kael knew this because Bethel was also currently thinking the same thing while his piercing golden eyes lazily stared at the electric lion.


    Bethel refrained from saying anything, he just let the lions gaze upon the fantastic work he had done for the good of the lion race.


    Among the lions who had just stumbled in, one of them recovered from the shock quickly and stepped forward. This lion was pure white, just like the white lioness Bethel was resting on.


    This white lion''s bright blue eyes stared intently at the white lioness under Bethel''s head. He recognized her as his former consort, a truly unloyal one.


    This was the main reason these lions were angry. Not because he was fucking these lionesses, many of them were not in their prides anyways. It was because he was somehow fostering and encouraging consorts to be unloyal to their pride leaders.


    Bethel knew it was taboo to go after the consort of another pride leader the way he did, Kael knew it was a taboo. But he did it either way.


    The more the white lion thought of Bethel, the more his anger grew. The ground beneath him started to freeze up, being covered in a layer of ice.


    Seeing his floor being frozen, Bethel''s brows furrowed in annoyance.


    "As per the contract agreements, I''m in no wrong." He said casually.


    His words infuriated the lions further as inhumane growls escaped their open jaws.


    "Contract or not, this is an abuse of your power," The white lion said.


    Bethel was in no mood to entertain these lions for one more second. "You''ve seen what you wanted to see, your suspicions have been confirmed.


    You may leave now,"


    As he said this, Bethel made a claw-shaped swipe at the lions. Power erupted out of Bethel, filling the whole cave and rushing to the lions at the entrance.

 Chapter 17: Katari

    Chapter 17: Chapter 17: KatariWhen Bethel clawed the air, the power that erupted forced Kael''s conciseness out of the memory.


    In the real world, he opened his eyes with a splitting headache that felt like hot lava had been poured into his skull.


    The more he thought about that final scene, the more the headache increased. He concluded that his mind could not beat to understand how that power worked. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the memory scene, his mind was basically connected to Bethel''s. Whatever Bethel thought, he would think of it too.


    Following that same logic, if Bethel thought of the process and ways it took to produce such power, Kael should also receive the same thought.


    The problem was that the Bethel in that memory and the current Kael were of two different power levels. The gap between them could not be closed so easily.


    This also meant that Kael''s little mind would be unable to comprehend Bethel''s power. Perhaps, in another scenario, Kael would have instantly died from the overload, but since this was a memory, his conciseness was automatically ejected away. Albeit with consequences.


    Kael closed his eyes as he pressed his head on the ground and put his paws on his head. The headache was truly too much, he desperately needed something to reduce the pain.


    A soft being gently rubbed its body against Kael before dropping to the ground next to him.


    Kael opened his eyes to see a female cub lying next to him. The cub stared at him with her beautiful brown eyes, wondering what this strange little lion was doing.


    Staring into her eyes, Kael could see the reflection of his face which had by now turned golden.


    After one year, all the hair on his body had completely turned to a golden color. This set him apart from every lion and lioness within the pride and also came with some trouble.


    At some point, the pride leader of the hot lion pride had begun paying attention to him. Kael didn''t know whether it was because he was a male and would most likely try to challenge him in the future or that he was upset about the unknown transformation Kael had undergone.


    Once in a while, he would notice the beady red eyes of the pride leader, calmly watching him from the distance. His gaze would always seem to come with a ruse in temperature. Kael didn''t know if the other pride members experienced this feeling whenever the pride leader looked at them.


    Kael sighed as he thought about this. The little lioness lying next to him was one of his cousins. He named her Katari.


    Over the months, he had made a conscious effort to form some type of bond between himself and some lionesses and the cubs.


    The current situation of Pavel, his older brother, was an eye-opener for him. That lion had spent so much time feeling entitled that it came as a shock when the pride turned against him.


    The cubs were all more or less one year old, they no longer needed someone to watch over them like before. And even if there was danger, it could be handled well now that the cubs had stronger limbs to help them escape it.


    Pavel and his buddies discovered that no one was bringing leftovers for them anymore. They starved the longer they waited and relied on these lionesses.


    At some point, they began to join the lionesses during hunting but they were not used to the efforts they had to put into having a good meal. It was disorienting for them.


    They soon began to fight the lionesses anytime they successfully killed their prey. They wanted to have the most share, ignoring the fact that the other lionesses also had to eat.


    Of course, their actions didn''t go unpunished. The two lionesses in the group were at least beaten so badly that they became docile. It looked like one of them was going to join the pride as the pride leader''s consort as she was already making moves after being beaten senseless.


    The two males on the other hand got it far worse. They were recovering from one injury or the other every week now. Just the sight of them would get the lionesses angry.


    Even Nalii, Pavel''s mother had stopped being tolerant of her son''s ways the day he attacked her over a piece of meat. A good amount of the injuries Pavel had were given to him by Nalii.


    For Pavel and his friend, their manes had already grown out a little well enough to be considered eligible to venture out and start their own pride but it was easier said than done.


    They weren''t even as big as Uncle, talk less of the pride leader.


    Speaking of those two, the pride leader had also begun hammering down on the two young lions. One of the males had no choice but to leave the pride hurriedly. He could no longer handle the stress of being beaten on-site just for existing.


    Pavel was the only one left. The two young lionesses that were once his buddies no longer interacted with him like before. One of the lionesses, Big Aunt''s daughter, was seen occasionally crawling to the Pride leader''s crotch while the other was slowly distancing herself from the pride members.


    Sooner or later, Pavel would have to either submit to the pride leader and become a subordinate, or leave the pride for good.


    Kael didn''t want this treatment for himself. He could understand why the feelings a mother had for her child would wane with time and with the changing characteristics of the said child.


    But he still had the mentality of a human. He would make an effort to bond emotionally with them to ensure a better chance of survival in the pride.


    At the same time, Kael also planned on using this bond to enact something sinister that could very well damage the pride leader.


    Maybe this was why the pride leader was so wary of him, Kael was making the lionesses too attached to him.


    This process definitely tested Kael''s will to achieve what he wanted as his dignity was trampled upon multiple times. He had to play, run, and do many things to make the lions feel attached to him.


    It was also ironic as Kael, in his past life, was very antisocial. Yet here he was, making an effort to establish a social life with these lions.


    Katari, who was next to him, was one of the cubs who had grown attached to him after carefully orchestrating plays and dramatic rat hunts.


    However, Katari was quite clingy. She was the first and easiest to get attached to Kael, but she also stuck to him like glue. Kael really didn''t know why this was so, there wasn''t really any traumatizing thing that happened to cause this behavior.


    Kael had to chalk it down to her unique lion personality. After all, he wasn''t complaining. He kinda liked being followed around by Katari as if she were his bodyguard.


    Kael shook his head to focus back on Bethel''s memories. From that short memory scene, he had learned a lot of things.


    First of all, there were different types of lions. And powerful ones at that. The primordial lion might just be unique from these subspecies.


    Kael wasn''t too sure of the names but he could vaguely recall that Bethel identified them based on something called ''Lion heart'' but it was too blurry.


    It was just a flash thought from Bethel and Kael barely grabbed onto it.


    Another thing was the term ''Contract'' that Bethel mentioned when he was talking to the opposing lions.


    At that time, Kaelnfelt a spike in thinking activity and he managed to comprehend one thing from that point, the main power of the primordial lion.


    For long Kael had wondered what exactly made a primordial lion so special from other lions. He always wondered what kind of power he would have, surely golden fur was not all there was to it.


    And now he knew. That storm of thoughts containing information about the contracts was enough for Kael to understand everything.


    The main power of the Primordials, lions or any other species, was the power to form primordial laws and utilize them.


    Those contracts that Bethel talked about were not ordinary, but agreements backed by the primordial laws with him, the Primordial lion as a medium.


    As for what exactly Bethel''s contracts were for or what they did, Kael had no idea. Everything he knew about the primordial contracts could only be considered surface knowledge for Bethel.


    This power did not just affect the individual Primordial, it also affected the entire race the Primordial belonged to in multiple ways.


    The more Kael arranged his thoughts, the more his eyes sharpened with mysterious intent. The previous laziness in his eyes gradually faded away.


    At least now, Kael had an idea of what to do and what he could achieve.

 Chapter 18: Erroneous Heart Beat

    Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Erroneous Heart BeatKael stood up, prompting Katari to sit up as well. A stark difference between the two was now made evident at the moment.


    Kael was tall, for a one-year-old lion. He towered over Katari by half a head. An outsider would think that Kael was hoarding and eating all the food.


    Kael felt this was just a perk of being a primordial lion. Even Bethel in the memories, was very tall.


    Although he could not measure just how tall Bethel had been with that memory alone, he could tell when he compared his height to the other lions and lionesses. As a lion and as a humanoid, his height was indeed incredible.


    Kael paced around, back and forth, to and fro. He contemplated and contemplated, thinking of how he could access this power he had just discovered.


    Katari sat up, looking at this ''little'' golden lion she had come to care so much about.


    ''Wait...'' Kael held back his thoughts from wondering. ''Lion Heart..''


    ''What is a lion heart?'' He turned to face Katari, but his eyes were unfocused. ''Is it the literal heart of a lion?''


    *BA-DUMP*


    Kael felt the faint beating of his heart. Like every other person, he barely paid attention to his heartbeat.


    He noticed that his heartbeats were rhythmical. There was a certain pattern to it that gave Kael the feeling of listening to an incomplete song.


    It was like a sound engineer had made a soundtrack. When played, it sounded good to the ears, but just when it was about to reach the climax, it abruptly ended.


    ''It''s all wrong...'' Kael thought, ''The pacing is all wrong.''


    He didn''t know how he knew but the sound of his heartbeat was just not working with him. It felt way too off.


    ''How would it sound like if it was corrected,'' He asked himself, ''I would know once I hear it.''


    To the ears of an ordinary person, there was nothing wrong with the pacing and rhythm of his heartbeat. But to him, it felt weird that something so erroneous was coming from inside him.


    ''How do I correct it?'' Kael asked himself as his walking pace got quicker. He became excited at the thought of this.


    Then he stopped. The only thing Kael could think of was to will his heart to beat correctly. This was logically impossible.


    Still, there was no kind of surgery Kael knew about that could do to his heart what he wanted, nor was there a surgeon nearby. And he most definitely wouldn''t think of placing his heart in the care of a surgeon so easily in the first place.


    After thinking of all the possibilities, the only thing left was to will his heart to heat correctly even though it was technically impossible.


    But alas, dying and reincarnating into the body of a lion should also be considered impossible, yet here he was. ''It wouldn''t hurt to give it a try.


    Kael sat down, sighing, he felt that every second that passed without him doing something that brought him towards success was time wasted.


    He had a deadline to meet. No matter how much the lionesses could come to love him, it wouldn''t change the stance of the pride leader, especially if he was not powerful himself.


    Soon, he would have to face the pride leader and possibly uncle. He would either have to submit and become a subordinate to the pride leader, or leave the pride.


    Kael was willing to leave the pride, and he had no intention of taking over this pride in the first place. But who is to say that the pride leader wouldn''t kill him in the process of growing up?


    Lions killing their male cubs was not something odd and it happened a lot in the savage lands. Anything to keep the competition away.


    In order to start his own pride, he must first be alive to do that.


    Giving one final sigh under the evening sun and the cool breeze. Kael walked to his boulder, and Katari silently followed.


    They passed by many cubs and some lionesses who rubbed heads with him as a sign of affection. These were the few pride members that had grown to like him.


    But once they greeted him, they went back to their own thing, sleeping or playing around. Katari was the only one who continued following Kael.


    They reached the boulder. This large rock had a lot of tally marks on it that covered a section of its body.


    When Kael stood before the boulder, he reached out with pale goldish-white claws. He used one claw to scratch a line on the surface of the boulder.


    His claws were still different from that of the primordial lions in the memory space. Theirs were metallic gold, while his still looked like the sharp bone extensions that they were. The only difference between his claws and the rest of the pride members was the faint golden hue that was settling up on them


    This was how Kael was sure that his transformation was not yet complete. But he couldn''t wait for it to be completed.


    He quickly jumped to the top of the boulder. There was only room for one if not Katari would have joined him.


    After getting comfortable, Kael concentrated on himself.


    *BA-DUMP!*


    He concentrated on his heartbeat, the thing that was keeping him alive.


    *BA-DUMP!*


    He could hear that nagging erroneous beat once again. With nothing but his thoughts, he commanded the error to stop.


    ...


    ... S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Of course, it didn''t work. He wasn''t doing any of this out of instinct or anything similar, he was being purely innovative. All the other primordial lions were born as Primordial Lions, they did not have to experience what Kael was experiencing so there was no other outside experience to learn from.


    Kael tried a different approach, he would attempt to fix that last note of the heartbeat by forcing it to take a different rhythm. And by force, he meant to imagine.


    *BA-DUMP*


    The note came, and Kael hurriedly held his breath and imagined his heart beating the way he wanted it.


    *BADUMP! BADUMP!*


    The air seemed to solidify as a terrifying primordial aura leaked out for a split second.


    Katari and all the lions immediately became alert. They looked around, wondering where that sense of danger was coming from.


    The pride leader got up, panicking. He turned around, looking everywhere for the threat.


    It was strange, he didn''t hear anything or receive any strange smell, yet he was aware that a threat was near him. Even Uncle had become restless.


    Kael kept his eyes closed, oblivious to all that was happening. He had felt his heartbeat get altered for a second before reverting back to its default. He was surprised as he didn''t actually think it would work.


    It sounded better to his ears, he wished it could continue like that. Now he knew what his heart should sound like when it was beating.


    Once again, he waited for the right timing before he held his breath and imagined the rhythm being corrected.


    *WHOOM!*


    This time, the invisible ancient aura spread out in an omnidirectional pattern and it lasted a lot longer before disappearing.


    Katari turned her head to stare straight at Kael. That aura gave her the feeling of standing before a timeless and powerful existence, that feeling was coming from Kael.


    Not just her, The pride leader had intelligently tracked the source of the aura. His beady red eyes locked on Kael who still had his eyes closed.


    The pride leader began walking slowly toward Kael. His steps showed he hadn''t thrown caution away.


    Seeing the pride leader move, the lionesses grew cautious too. Especially when they saw him walking towards Kael.


    Nalii ran towards Kael, reaching him before the pride leader did. But she didn''t try to touch him, she just faced the pride leader, ready to defend her child.


    Some other lionesses and cubs were also slowly walking to Kael. They were mostly curious to understand what was happening, but their claws which were already out sooke of what hid at the back of their minds.


    Katari looked at all this with her teeth bared. She was not even trying to hide her aggression towards the incoming pride leader.


    The pride leader merely glanced at her, not halting his steps at all. Uncle followed behind him and at his farther flanks were the few lionesses.


    *BADUMP BADUMP BADUMP...*


    Kael heard noises but still had his eyes closed, he was completely focused. He felt he was close very close. The previous time, he could not keep the rhythm well, causing it to end after four seconds.


    When the right timing came again, he held his breath and once more imagined his lionheart beating the way it should.


    *BOOM!*


    The aura wave spread out magnificently. The pride members were the ones to receive the full brunt of it.


    They felt like they were in the presence of an ancient existence. They felt like this ancient existence was just a few actions away from tearing down and rebuilding the laws of the world. It was akin to an ant standing before an elephant.


    This feeling was terrifying, but it was also exciting. The lions felt excited, they felt like something that had been lost to them had finally returned. They didn''t know what they had lost, but they knew it had finally been found.


    Kael was overcome by a deep desire to roar. Before he could put a stop to it, his jaw opened wide against his will and released an unholy sound.


    *ROAR!*


    It was a roar that commanded all to bow or be consumed. Short and straight to the point.


    The pride members weren''t the only ones who heard this roar though, for this roar transcended space and time to pierce into as many realms of existence as it could.

 Chapter 19: Diane And Priya

    Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Diane And PriyaThousands of realms and worlds couldn''t prevent the sound of the roar from invading.


    All the lions who heard it felt the resonance with their lion hearts, awakened or not. This was followed by mixed feelings.


    Some felt threatened by the existence behind that roar and began looking around frantically, others felt relieved, like they had finally seen their savior.


    As for creatures that weren''t lions, they merely understood it as another lion''s roar. Some ran for their lives in whichever direction, while some simply opened their large eyes before going back to sleep. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    #########


    Kael opened his eyes to see a strange scene before him.


    ''Why is the pride leader looking at me like that?'' Kael wondered, seeing the pride leader''s massive face closing in on him with a strange expression.


    His face went from anger to scared to excited, to cautious. Finally, it settled on an expressionless tone, but his eyes didn''t hide its quivering. He was about to take action.


    Kael took a step back, preparing to run if the need arose.


    Nalii roared, seeing the pride leader ready to do something. As far as she was concerned, the pride leader only looked like that when he was deciding to remove a threat. She had seen it multiple times before.


    She bared her long fangs and let out sharp claws. Katari was also doing the same, even fiercer, she looked like she would jump at the pride leader if he got too close.


    Pavel, who was looking from the distance felt saddened by this. His mother would beat him up ruthlessly yet look at how she was so protective of his little brother.


    Why didn''t she treat him the same way, he deserved to be treated the same way. Unknowingly, Pavel started looking at Kael under the light of hatred.


    Meanwhile, the pride leader was a bit disturbed by Nalii''s overprotectiveness, but it was to be expected, she was the mother after all. This didn''t stop him from walking forward though.


    But what happened next shocked him. Two lionesses that he had previously not paid much attention to also ran past him and took a stance with Kael behind them.


    Kael was shocked, he had played with these lionesses but he hadn''t really expected that the connection between them would cause them to protect him in this scenario.


    He had tried his best to make the other lionesses fond of him, yet only two were willing to stand up to the pride leader for his sake.


    The Pride leader growled, and so did Uncle behind him along with Big Aunt. The pride leader couldn''t believe his eyes, how could his consorts defend this cub?


    Didn''t they know that he could be a threat to his reign? This was no different from treason.


    Uncle wasn''t too pleased either. He didn''t exactly like his brother but he would rather be his subordinate than any others. He really didn''t care about mating as long as there was enough food to go to him, he wasn''t greedy.


    Besides, his brother had turned a blind eye to his activities with one of the lionesses in the past, even exempting her from the official consort status while still having her as a pride member.


    The annoying thing for him was that one of the lionesses defending Kael was the same lioness his brother had allowed him to be with.


    If something threatened his brother, it would indirectly threaten him and his livelihood. So naturally, he wouldn''t take kindly to the actions of these lionesses.


    It was Big Aunt''s responsibility to lead the lionesses and ensure they stayed in line. The actions of these two were a direct challenge to their authority.


    Why defend something that could threaten the status quo of the pride.


    What was worse was that the other lionesses were not doing anything besides watching the drama unfolding.


    They didn''t stand behind their pride leader to show their support.


    Kael looked on with a strange calmness within. A part of his mind was still preoccupied by the new sensation he was getting and the instincts growing within his mind.


    The pride leader was ready to throw hands and just attack. He was confident that Nalii, Katari, and the two lionesses wouldn''t be his match.


    But the look he was getting from Kael was too disturbing for him to continue. There was no fear in those golden eyes, rather, there was curiosity, alertness, excitement, decisiveness, but no fear.


    That aura had toned down by a lot but it was still there. The aura seeped into his bones and touched upon his will and everything that made him a lion.


    The pride leader was not like other ordinary lions, he knew the advantages of treating everything with caution.


    Growling to express his dissatisfaction, the pride leader turned away. This shocked the other pride members, including those who were protecting Kael.


    They did not expect the pride leader to turn away like that. At least Nalii was expecting to get some injuries from the bout.


    Kael narrowed his eyes at the shrinking back of the pride leader, ''We shall see,'' He told himself.


    He looked down to see Nalii and the other two lionesses along with Katari, looking at him. All had a worried look on their lion faces.


    Especially Nalii, she was the most worried about Kael, followed by Katari. The two other lionesses didn''t seem too worried.


    These were two distinct lionesses. The one on the right, Kael called Diane. She was tough and well-muscled, compared to the rest of the lionesses. She was about the same size as Big Aunt, despite Big Aunt getting to eat way more than her most times. One look at her powerful limbs and one would imagine the kind of strength that can burst out from them.


    Another thing was that she was a bit dumb, Kael had observed. She was the type to do a lot of things without thinking of the repercussions. In short, she was very simple-minded.


    This type of individual would put up no resistance when someone like Kael tried to be friends with her. It was no wonder she was bold enough to try and protect Kael from the pride leader.


    The other lioness was Priya. Slim and also the most empathetic in the pride, probably why she could easily get attached to Kael who could match her vibe with his behaviors. She in general just did not like seeing conflict among pride members, so when someone like Kael who she actually liked was in danger, she would do her best to defend him.


    Her eyes shone with intelligence and understanding, affirming to Kael that she was more self-aware than the rest.


    Another thing was that Priya also had a cub, just one. But Kael had some suspicions that the cub was not fathered by the pride leader. He just had no way to confirm his suspicions now apart from resemblance and the behavior she showed towards a certain Uncle.


    What was weirder was that if Kael could think of this, the Pride leader obviously knew as well. Or did he just not care or not consider Priya to be one of his consorts?


    Either way, these two stood up for Kael, and he appreciated that. But he was sure that it would have gotten to a point with the pride leader that these two would have abandoned him.


    A factor Kael forgot to consider was the relationship between Nalii and the two lionesses, they were born at the same time. Not necessarily blood sisters but had definitely grown up together.


    The connection between the three of them would be one of those few that went beyond pure instincts. This factor greatly contributed to their willingness to protect Nalii''s cub.


    This mental note didn''t make Kael feel bad though. With his new powers, what was there to be worried about?

 Chapter 20: Primordial Laws

    Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Primordial LawsKael jumped down from his boulder with elegance. His tail swished around, carrying with it a newfound power.


    *BA-DUMP*


    His heart played the correct beat, filling him with a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment.


    Kael felt that now, for the first time in his life, he finally felt alive and aware of himself.


    The current him felt like the past Kael had merely been in a trance, playing to the predetermined fate the universe had written for him. A few minutes ago and beyond felt like a dream, NOW felt like he had finally woken up.


    The way he saw the world became different. His mind proceeded one thought after the other, most of them being Nihilistic.


    "The world," For the first time in a long while, Kael opened his lion mouth to speak, "The world... Is...So.... Lawless," He spoke subconsciously in the same language that Bethel spoke


    But his speech was broken and hoarse, seeming constrained and restricted. It sounded like the very act of a lion talking went against the order of the Highest.


    Nalii and the rest were surprised by the strange noise that came from Kael''s mouth.


    Kael ignored the surprised look on their face to relish in the power of the Primordial laws that was soaking him.


    All that was left was for him to take a certain action, and he did.


    Kael turned to Katari and walked up to her. Katari was a bit flustered by Kael''s sudden intrusion into her personal space so she took a step back.


    Kael''s golden gaze compelled her to remain at her spot. Nalii, Diane, and Priya looked on curiously from the side.


    Kael looked deeply into Katari''s deep eyes, ''I, Primordial Lion Kael, wish to make an agreement with you...'' Kael thought but those words found themselves in the depths of Katari''s mind.


    The essence of the Primordial laws gathered under the will and direction of Kael in the form of golden strings.


    It was already nighttime by now, the half-moon hung far away, with its faint moonlight shining on the savage land.


    The glowing strings of golden light that appeared out of nowhere and began gathering in the middle of Kael and Katari were quite eye-catching.


    The strings converged and formed a glowing illusory multi-layered circle. This circle had strange characters that both of them had never seen before. Even then, they perfectly understood the message the characters formed and conveyed.


    This was a contract, and its content was simply an agreement between Kael and Katari.


    It stated that as long as the contract receiver, who in this case was Katari, was willing to become a pride member in the contract giver''s -who is Kael- Pride, then Katari would receive a one-time reward of having her Lionheart awakened.


    The contract was detailed, containing conditions and necessary actions that could or couldn''t be taken. There was only one action that couldn''t be done which was Betrayed. The word ''Betrayal'' shone brightly, standing out from the rest of the characters.


    One action that was also required to be constantly observed by the contract receiver was loyalty. It was a pretty lax contract that only demanded loyalty from its signer.


    The consequences were noted to be painful punishment which depending on the severity of the contract breach, could lead to death.


    A little clause in the corner was termed ''sharing of power'' but it was so inconspicuous that the lionesses didn''t glance too long at it, even though they could understand it.


    As for how Kael was able to form this contract so soon, it came to him like he was learning how to walk. He knew that the primordial laws were his to make use of, the question was how. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What better way to make use of primordial laws than through the creation of contracts?


    Katari stared at the Circular contract, perfectly able to understand every word despite her intelligence level being quite low. She looked up to see Kael''s serious face.


    Kael waited patiently, whether she signed it or not would determine a lot of decisions he might make later on.


    Nalii, Diane, and Priya also could understand the content of the contract. They looked at it with curiosity, then at Kael. They noticed that the contract and Kael shared the same aura.


    Something that Kael didn''t specify was how or who was going to help the contract receiver awaken her powers or who would dish out the punishment for breach of contract.


    This didn''t need to be specified since the contract was backed by the name of a primordial and therefore the primordial laws. Anything that needed to be taken care of would be automatically handled by the primordial laws, Kael knew this.


    Katari glanced at the contract again, her eyes quivering. Then she turned to look at the three adult lionesses close by who also watched in anticipation of what she would do.


    She turned back to see her mother in the distance among the other lionesses. She looked at her daughter once before removing her eyes, turning her attention to the pride leader.


    In any pride, no one can challenge the pride leader and expect to continue having a regular life in the pride.


    Katari had chosen Kael over the safety of her pride, naturally, the pride members would not treat her well from now on. Even her mother was reluctant to look at her, already looking forward to the next mating season so that the pride leader could give her another set of cubs.


    Katari was saddened by this, but she didn''t press on it. After all, the connection between lions was mostly based on instinct and would immediately wear off given the right timing and situation.


    ''I accept!'' Although Katari could not talk, her thoughts, which were empowered by the primordial laws, echoed in Kael''s mind.


    Her voice was feminine, almost childlike, but it was accompanied by a hint of sorrow.


    Receiving the acknowledgement from Katari, the primordial contract, enforced by the Primordial laws shone brightly before exploding in a small inaudible pop.


    Next, Katari and Kael felt a burning sensation on their foreheads. Kael saw the pride mark appear in golden color in the center of Katari''s forehead.


    The mark was shaped like a crown, golden with a well-detailed image and black outline. At the same time, Katari also saw a golden mark burn itself on Kael''s forehead.


    The mark on Kael''s forehead was different, it was also golden but had more details to it. It was wider and longer, with a thick base, and the top ended in multiple sharp points.


    The golden light died down and everything went back to normal. The golden marks faded away.


    Katari had frozen up, she was able to move but could not think of moving at the same time. Her body was undergoing visible changes, her heart in Particular.


    If Kael could, he would smile. He could hear Katari''s heartbeat following a certain pattern that soothed his ears. It was different from the rhythm his heart had but it was soothing nonetheless.


    The primordial laws went to work, helping Katari awaken her Lionheart with immediate effect.


    Now, it was time to see what kind of lionheart Katari had awakened.

 Chapter 21: Mega Herd

    Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Mega HerdThe next day, the pride decided to go hunting.


    The rainy season had arrived, and along with it came the herbivores from their migration. It could be said that there was a surplus of prey at this time.


    Now that Kael was one year old, as well as the other cubs, he had to follow the pride out for hunting.


    No one was going to bring food for these cubs again, they were past that. It wasn''t necessary to participate in the hunt, they just had to be there to grab their food and learn the skill required to catch their prey.


    Although, their abilities were not too far off since they had honed their skills while hunting the brown rats for so long. By encouraging the cubs to hunt the brown rats, Kael had ensured an easier time in the future for the cubs.


    Right now, the pride members were walking through the tall green grass. The pride leader and Uncle were at the front, as usual. Big Aunt stayed directly behind them, leading the other lionesses and their cubs. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The sub-adults stayed by the flank, not daring to be near the pride members for fear of offending someone and getting beat up.


    At the end of their convoy were Nalii, Priya, and Diane. Kael and Katari walked beside them with other cubs like Eidel, Ruda, Burdo, and Priya''s only cub, a female whom Kael called Zabita.


    Kael maintained his golden fur from yesterday with the only noticeable change in his claws which seemed to be getting darker.


    Katari had also changed, she wasn''t as small as before. Compared to the other cubs, she was now a few millimeters taller than average, not really noticeable unless they stood side by side.


    Another change was her fur, they had become lustrous and enchanting to look at even though they still had the same color.


    She now gave everyone the feeling of her not being where she was. Even Kael noticed that if he looked away from Katari, he would find it hard to sense her.


    Her steps had at some time become so calculated that she barely made any sounds while moving.


    One golden lion cub and one lustrous furred cub walked side by side, a scene that was very extraordinary. The only other being present that could match their aura was the pride leader.


    The reason they all walked at the back of the convoy was to avoid the other pride members. Ever since yesterday, the pride members had been staying away from the lionesses like they were some plague.


    Kael could see that these lionesses did not mean it, but they would rather not get on the bad side of the pride leader for the sake of these lionesses. The pride leader seemed to be really pissed at them.


    Diane wasn''t too bothered about whatever was happening. Right now, the only thing in her mind was to hunt, her favorite activity.


    Nalii was disturbed by the negative treatment but she handled it well, as long as Kael was safe from harm within the pride.


    Priya was the most worried among them, once in a while, she would go and meet the lionesses again, only to get shunned. She also went to meet Uncle, who she had not really interacted with since a year ago. But even he gave her the silent treatment.


    Priya was truly the most emotional and sensitive of the bunch. She kept a long face throughout the journey.


    Kael felt bad for them, if there was a way to help them, he would. Yesterday, he had offered them the same contracts that he gave Katari with the exact same contents.


    He had hoped to make them his pride members while also awakening their lionheart and increasing his loyal support at the same time. It was especially important for him to get his mother to sign the contract, she was the one he had the most bond with.


    Unfortunately, all three lionesses refused, shaking their heads in disagreement with the contract. They understood the contract in words but they didn''t really get what a lionheart was.


    They also weren''t so easy to turn over like that. Just because their pride members were treating them badly didn''t mean they would instantly become disloyal and turn over to his side.


    It would take a lot more push and time for them to fully be willing to sign the contract. And Kael was willing to wait for them, he had the time to spare now.


    *Rawr*


    Eidel, Ruda, and Zabita played in front while Burdo walked quietly and alone. Burdo wasn''t the type to enjoy playing around, he was always serious.


    Kael almost felt pity for him. Soon they would grow up and have to leave the Hot Lion Pride. Unlike him, Burdo was not building any support, he would rather be alone, sleeping, or looking for small prey.


    Whenever they hunted brown rats, Kael had made sure to give some lionesses a few pieces or two. He had wanted them to get familiar with the idea of him providing little things for them.


    Although on a normal day like today, those pieces of meat would barely arouse their appetite, this strategy worked like magic during the dry season with the scarcity of prey.


    He had only tried this method at the beginning because he could not handle having to work so hard to catch prey and hand it out to the lionesses. The method was good as it opened a path for connection between him and the lionesses.


    Every other thing he did combined to bear fruit in the form of Priya and Diane stepping up for him. Although they were just two compared to the rest that he had fed, he was satisfied.


    Burdo, whenever he hunted brown rats, would only take it to Nalii and that was for her to tear it up for him. No one was allowed to touch his food if they didn''t want to have scratches all over their face.


    As it was now, everyone mostly steered clear away from him, which was what he actually wanted.


    The problem was that when the time came for the pride leader to chase him away. There would be almost no pride member willing to put up a resistance for his sake.


    Burdo was going down the same path as Pavel. Kael almost felt bad for him, almost.


    Kael wasn''t necessarily a kind-hearted person when it came to certain matters, he had no reason to try to help his brother in this world where the only law was strength.


    Kael had no intention of offering Burdo a contract, not because he didn''t like Burdo but because that would just ruin the plans and visions he was having for himself.


    In Kael''s pride, he only wanted one male, which was him. He didn''t like the idea of other males fighting for dominance within.


    In those animal documentaries, the most common reason for a pride leader''s downfall was the presence of an internal challenger.


    A lion-like Uncle was only complacent because he did not have the power or guts to challenge the pride leader. If Uncle was replaced with someone like Burdo, the pride would never be peaceful.


    As for the number of females, Kael decided that it would be based on the number of lionheart types, which he didn''t know yet.


    ''We''re here...'' His thoughts trailed off as the lion convoy stopped moving.


    Kael walked to the side to see what was in front of them.


    Far away from the group was a vast herd of Zebras. The herd stretched from one end of the plain to another, painting a picture of black and white in between heaven and earth. This was the largest gathering of animals Kael had ever seen.


    The zebra herds he saw in the past were not as large as this one. Now there were greener pastures in the wilderness, and a lot of zebra herds came back to the wilderness to form one mega herd.


    The sight of such vast numbers of zebras would shake a lot of creatures to their core, not the lions though. All the lions saw was an excess of food.


    With a few growls to communicate, the lionesses got into formation while the pride leader and his brother disappeared into the tall grass, as usual.


    The lionesses formed a bowl-shaped formation and began to spread out, the sub-adults joined in. The cubs stayed behind, following them at a safe distance.


    Kael and Katari walked ahead of the cubs, intending to join the hunt discreetly. What better way to test out the might of the lionhearts?


    Kael looked at Katari, giving her a nod for confirmation. With her now-enhanced intelligence, she easily understood what Kael was implying.


    She nodded back at Kael before picking up her pace. If she continued like this, the lionesses would see her and probably send her back for her own safety.


    However, just before Katari reached the lionesses, her fur blended and mixed into her environment, practically making her disappear. Katari had now completely disappeared from sight.

 Chapter 22: Strategy

    Chapter 22: Chapter 22: StrategyKatari disappeared completely from sight, even Kael could not see her anymore. But he didn''t need to.


    He turned his head away from the spot Katari was and turned back to see the cubs bewildered by Katari''s disappearance. They were the only ones in the pride that saw this.


    Kael turned away from them, ''Let''s see...'' He crouched down and began following the lionesses.


    Since he was still small, the tall grass did well to hide his eye-catching golden form. Once he got closer to the lionesses, he activated his lionheart with a thought.


    Immediately, Kaels fur changed from gold into a mix of colors. His body perfectly blended in with the tall grass, making it hard to spot him.


    The cubs behind him grew restless once again. First, it was Katari, and now Kael also disappeared.


    The contract Katari signed had allowed Kael to share her powers. This camouflage ability was just one of them.


    Burdo looked at the happenings with a cautious gaze, wondering where his brother suddenly went, but he didn''t stop walking. Eidel and Ruda looked around worriedly, wondering where their brother went to. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, Kael and Katari, crouching side by side, closed in on the lionessess. Although they couldn''t see each other clearly, they could sense themselves with the pride mark.


    They passed by big Aunt who suddenly looked in their direction. The duo stopped moving, holding their breath. Big Aunt looked at the spot carefully, she thought, she heard the grass get hit by something but she couldn''t see anything.


    Giving up, she continued forward, leading the hunting team to their target. Kael sighed with relief before he continued following them.


    He made sure to stay away from Big Aunt. She was the oldest and most experienced of the lionesses.


    Kael guessed that she was at least one generation older than Nalii if not more. Meaning she had a lot more skills when it came to hunting.


    One wrong move and she would quickly discover them. Kael and Katari moved to the edge of their bowl formation, making sure to make as little noise as possible.


    The lionesses in their bowl-shaped formation got closer and closer to the zebra mega herd. Big Aunt stopped in her tracks, her eyes searching for the perfect prey.


    Soon, her eyes locked on one of the zebras closer to them. An old zebra quietly grazed by the edge of the herd.


    One look at its trembling legs and she could tell it would be very unlikely for it to be able to see the next rainy season. If they did hunt this old zebra, someone else would.


    The zebra was weak, it was grazing at the edge of the pride out of preference but because it was being stigmatized. Zebra''s were not too bright in the head but they knew that when predators come to feast, they would pick the weakest prey closest to them.


    Plus, this old zebra would just slow them down. This was just how things were done in the wilderness. The herd mentality could only do so much to protect herd members, nothing about personal feelings was involved.


    Surely, Big Aunt won''t ignore a gift that had been presented to her. She released a small growl, signaling for the other lionesses to notice her choice.


    As soon as they saw the old zebra, the atmosphere around them changed. Their eyes became sharper and their muscles bulged a little.


    Big Aunt crouched down, leading the rest to crouch with her. The hunt had begun.


    Kael also noticed the zebra, although a bit difficult. He wasn''t as tall as the adults so he had to strain extra hard to spot any close creature with the tall grass in the way.


    He and Katari moved slowly with the pride toward their target, ever so slowly they got closer to the oblivious zebra.


    Eventually, all that was left between the lions and the zebra was almost a hundred meters, a distance that could be covered by the lionesses in a few seconds.


    The lionesses were very careful to not make a noise so that they could get as close as possible. They didn''t want to have to spend a lot of energy chasing down one prey.


    However, it was bound to happen for the zebra to notice. There was a barely audible swish sound from the body of a lioness rubbing against the tall grass.


    The zebra''s head shot up, and its eyes stared at the swaying grass with extreme vigilance. The lionesses stopped moving, crouching even lower, practically letting their belly touch the ground.


    They slowed their breath and their muscles bulged, ready to explode with force.


    For a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the wind blowing and the grass swaying.


    The zebra, not seeing any immediate threat, returned to eating the succulent grass from the ground.


    To the left, three lionesses broke off from the formation, Big Aunt saw this and waited patiently for them.


    The three lionesses began closing on the zebra in such a way that they would easily be able to cut off its escape route back to the mega herd.


    *SNAP!*


    A wet stick broke under the paw of Kael. He froze, the lionesses froze, and the zebra froze. ''Fuck...'' he cursed


    Now the zebra was super alert, its ear twitched repeatedly, trying to find the source of the sound.


    If it had happened once, then it might have been thought of as a coincidence, forgettable. But it happened twice with such a short time interval.


    Big Aunt did not dare give the zebra more time to make a decision, she shot out of the tall grass with her full might, her powerful hind legs pushing her for meters within a second.


    The lionesses followed immediately, matching Big Aunt speed for speed. At the same time, the zebra reacted with its fast reflexes, moving almost at the same time the lionesses appeared.


    Kael burst out of the grass cover with swiftness. Katari, being more aware and less distracted by the stick snapping, was ahead of him.


    Pandemonium ensued, zebras ran away and scattered themselves all over the field. The lionesses kept their eyes and direction on their target, the old zebra.


    The herd quickly noticed that the predators were only chasing after the old zebra. Like some collective decision was made, they started creating distance between them and the old zebra.


    The old zebra ran for his life, he tried to escape into the dense cluster of his fellow zebras but three lionesses had blocked his path, running him out of the way.


    He had no choice but to run to a farther herd, there was no obstruction in his way. If only he could make it.


    Alas, the lions were faster than him and had way more stamina, the other herd was too far away. Before he could reach them, he was already becoming weary and tired.


    As an old zebra, his speed and endurance wasn''t what it used to be. He had run from predators before, but it looked like this would be the first time he would get caught.


    *HUAEEHUAEEHUAEE!*


    The zebra let out a sorrowful cry as one of the lions latched onto his butt with her sharp claws. This signaled the end for him.


    He was too weak to shoulder the weight of this lioness, he had to slow down. And just like that, the other lionesses caught up and jumped on him one after the other.


    Big Aunt took her usual spot, clamping the windpipe of the zebra with her powerful jaws. Her sharp canines dug into the flesh of the black-striped beast, taking away its ability to make any sort of noise.


    The zebra was still alive, albeit for a very short while. In the last moments of its agony, it saw two trails suddenly appear in front of it.


    While the lionesses were holding down the old zebra, Kael and Katari whizzed past them, carrying a strong breeze due to the speed they were moving at.


    The sudden movement of these two invisible beings started the lionesses so much that they almost made an accident and let the old zebra escape.


    Kael and Katari indeed joined the hunt, the thing was that the pride had a target as a whole and Kael had his own target.


    Kael never intended to help the pride hunt for food, he couldn''t afford to for his long-term plan to succeed.


    So while the pride lionesses were dealing with their prey, he and Katari sped unnoticed towards their own prey.

 Chapter 23: Camouflage

    Chapter 23: Chapter 23: CamouflageKael''s and Katari''s target was a young zebra, a newborn. It looked to be just a few hours old.


    It was currently running helter-skelter with its mother, not really understanding what was happening apart from its mother''s panicked state.


    For now, the average distance between each zebra in the herd had expanded, exposing them to predators that would pick them off one after the other.


    This was why Katari and Kael followed closely behind the hunting team. It wasn''t to assist them but to make use of the chaos that they would bring once they caught their prey.


    He might have some upgrades that set him apart from every cub, but he still wasn''t an adult. No matter how fast he was now, he wouldn''t be able to keep up with the lionesses if they ran at their full speed. Then what was the point in trying to assist them with hunting a zebra?


    Now that the mother and the child were momentarily disconnected from the herd, it was the best time to strike.


    Kael and Katari sped toward the two zebras with pure unhidden killing intent. They were mostly invisible to the ordinary eye so it looked like two streams of wind were parting the grass and making its way to the zebras.


    The rapid swishing and roughing of the grass alerted the zebra mother. She looked up to check where the danger was, only to find nothing except from some tall grass that was being pushed to the side as the sound got closer.


    Her motherly instinct kicked in as she cried out while breaking into a run. Surely the little zebra followed her, but it was just a few hours old, it could not run that fast.


    *BAM!*


    Like a ghost, Kael slammed his body at the side of the zebra, causing it to tumble to the ground, kicking up a small dust screen in the process. With the speed Kael had been moving, the zebra had definitely broken or fractured a few bones.


    The zebra didn''t even see it coming, it was so confused and disoriented. It cried out, calling for its mother.


    The camouflage ability Kael was using was deactivated at this time, allowing his golden furry form to be seen by the mother zebra.


    She rushed at Kael with anger, seeking to stomp this insolent cub to death with her hooves.


    Kael allowed her to get close enough, before breaking into a run. The zebra mother pursued but came to a realizing halt. She turned back because her mind was still on her foal.


    What she saw horrified her and almost gave her a heart attack. She didn''t know when but another lion cub had appeared and this one was biting on the hind legs of the little zebra.


    The little zebra got up to run despite the pain, luckily its mother arrived to chase the cub away.


    However, things were not alright at all. The mother zebra looked at the bleeding leg hind of the foal, this was bad. In the wilderness, this type of injury could change the life of a zebra permanently, even shorten it.


    If a healthy adult in its prime had been injured like this, it wouldn''t have mattered much. But for a youngling or elderly, this was very bad.


    The little zebra limped to its mother, rubbing its head on her shoulder to show its affection. This limping just broke the mother''s heart all the more.


    She looked around, but could not find the attackers. The two seemed to have disappeared into thin air. With no other choice, she galloped toward the nearest zebra group.


    But Kael and Katari would not let go just yet.


    *BAM!*


    Another heavy hit to the foal''s side that flipped it over. The mother was startled and began kicking the air frantically with her hind legs.


    Katari appeared within her view again and she pursued with aggressive intent. Katari made sure to stay as close as possible, giving the mother zebra the illusion that she was almost about to crush this predator.


    Meanwhile, Kael appeared in front of the fallen Zebra. Without wasting any time, he slashed his claws at the zebra''s neck. Four fine bloody lines appeared on the zebra''s neck and Kael didn''t stop.


    He continued clawing at the neck, ignoring the cry of agony the zebra was releasing. The sound of four heavy hooves prompted Kael to run.


    The mother pursued relentlessly, if only she could kill this lion cub, her child would be safe. That was what went through her mind.


    Kael phased out of existence once again, making the zebra mother confused. Kael and Katari could not outrun the mother, so throwing her off Bala by disappearing was very effective.


    This back and forth continued. Kael and Katari would take turns, raining attacks on the foal, which would get the attention of the mother. The mother would chase the attacker, giving the other time to land his or her devastating attack.


    It was a strategy that hatched on the spot, no careful planning or communication was involved.


    A few minutes passed and the mother was tired, her child lay on the ground, motionless with bloody marks all over its body. It wasn''t clear whether it had bled to death or died from the pain.


    Other zebras stared at the bout with fearful eyes. Unless they were pushed, they couldn''t think of using their numbers to scare away the lion cubs. As long as there was no threat to their life, they wouldn''t interfere.


    Besides, the mother was busy chasing those cubs when she should have abandoned her foal and joined the nearest herd.


    Every zebra knows there is safety in the herd and the herd alone. It was her fault for neglecting the herd. Unintelligent thoughts like this would run through the minds of the zebras watching.


    The mother zebra stood above the corpse of her child. Just when she had experienced the joy of motherhood for the first time, the feeling was crushed by bloodthirsty predators. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even now, she wasn''t willing to let go, her motherly instincts didn''t let her to. Kael and Katari watched from the sidelines.


    Kael knew that it was only a matter of time before a zebra''s survival awareness kicked in again, sooner or later, she would abandon the body of the foal.


    As expected, after some time, the mother slowly walked away from the body. Once in a while, she would turn back to look at the body, hoping that it would get up and follow her. Life was just too fickle in the savage lands.


    She would soon forget this when she gets in heat and mates with another male who would notice her childlessness.


    When the mother was out of sight, Katari and Kael rushed out of hiding to chase away the vultures that were gathering around their kills.


    Looking into the distance, he could see that far away, the pride leader had already begun eating his share of the feast along with his brother.


    The lionesses loitered around him, waiting for the duo to finish. Nalii, Priya, and Diane seemed to be isolated as they stood at the very end.


    Going over the ideas in his mind, Kael decided to quickly feel his belly before thinking of any other thing for now.


    The flesh of the foal was soft and easily got torn off the bones. This was by far the tastiest meat he had ever had, no wonder predators liked going after the young ones of their prey.


    Kael ate from the ribs while Katari munched on one of the hind legs. After their bellies were full he decided to stop.


    Kael felt an instinctive annoyance at the thought of Katari eating with him at the same time, but he didn''t act on it. Some things weren''t just worth giving into.


    When they were done eating, the pride leader left with his brother who had also finished eating. They had eaten a large chunk of the zebra and left the rest for the lionesses.


    As expected, Priya, Nalii, and Diane were chased away and weren''t allowed to eat. The lionesses would growl at them anytime they got near, the three could not go against so many lionesses at once. All the energy they had put into hunting this zebra was now in vain


    All three of them walked away from the group, hoping to find their own prey. Even though they were tired, they still had to try. Each had different thoughts but the image of Kael would flash in their minds once in a while.


    In the process of finding prey for themselves, they wandered far from their pride.


    A small roar that didn''t go far entered their ears. They turned to see Kael and Katari, dragging the carcass of a young zebra to them.


    The little zebra was nearly three or four times their size, yet they dragged it with strength that didn''t quite match their size.


    Kael and Katari left the zebra in front of the three lionesses, waiting for them to eat. The three lionesses were so stunned that they forgot their hunger for a moment.


    If Kael could, he would have a naughty smirk on his face. He clearly saw the turmoil within the eyes of these three and he was enjoying every second of it.

 Chapter 24 - 24! The Rift

    Chapter 24: Chapter 24! The RiftTheir stomachs grumbled, pulling them from their surprised state. The action of Kael was so odd that they had no way to react to it.


    It wasn''t every day one saw a lion cub deliver a baby zebra to three lionesses. This action was very impactful in their psyche due to the fact that they were all exhausted from chasing that old zebra, only to be denied their pound of flesh.


    Kael watched them tear meat away from the carcass with glee, ''The pride leader shouldn''t blame me, he brought this upon himself,''


    The lionesses didn''t finish everything, Priya and Nalii took a sizable piece of meat in their mouths each. The meat Nalii took was larger, half of the spine with some ribs and meat still attached to it. S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Once they were done, the group returned back to the cubs gathering with Kael and Katari leading at the front.


    When Eidel, Burdo, Ruda, and Zabita saw the pieces of meat in their mouth, they grew excited.


    Burdo brushed up on Kael, he could smell the blood on Kael''s jaws and didn''t like it at all. He lowered his head and growled at Kael as if daring him to move.


    Kael was a little bigger than Burdo, but his gentleness toward his brother made Burdo assume things he shouldn''t.


    ''So the time has come to beat some sense into you?'' Kael thought but didn''t do anything, not now, not in front of his mother.


    Fortunately, Katari came to his rescue. She let out her own threatening growl which was more deep and fearsome. The sound she made reminded Kael of bike engines from his past life.


    Burdo had no choice but to back off, Katari looked like she was ready to tear him to pieces if it really broke into a fight.


    Katari and Kael were almost the same height, both bigger than him. The difference was that Katari was not as calm-headed as Kael.


    Burdo turned away to meet Nalii, waiting for her to drop the meat. Nalii had seen the brief quarrel between her two sons.


    She had wanted to come to the aid of Kael for some reason. Normally, she wouldn''t have a favorite, but in her eyes, Kael was worth more than her other cubs, she just hadn''t admitted it yet.


    Kael''s siblings ate and Zabita went to her mother for her own portion. Now that he had time, he could observe this Zabita better.


    Zabita was one of the cubs who he had close ties with through her mother. In terms of personality, she was more like Burdo, just less aggressive and more reserved.


    She didn''t mind taking a walk with Kael or sharing brown rats with him. She was by no means shy, she just didn''t like doing a lot of things that weren''t necessary.


    One of Zabita''s unique characteristics was her expression. She really looked like everything in the world was bothering her or misunderstanding her. It reminded Kael of those goth teenagers.


    ''Should I also offer her the pride contract?...'' Kael wondered but decided to think of it later.


    The cubs of other lionesses wanted to join, some that were also on good terms with Kael. But the zebra left over could not just go around, even if he wanted them to share. Only two cubs were able to salvage some small pieces of meat.


    Just as soon as they finished eating, the other lionesses made their way back to the pride gathering.


    The mothers among them didn''t come with any piece of meat for their cubs. They still had to hunt one more zebra before the whole pride would be satisfied.


    Upon seeing the young zebra remains on the ground and the three lionesses that they had pushed away next to the bones, they could guess what happened.


    The smell of blood and flesh coming from them only solidified their conclusion, these lionesses had hunted another zebra behind their backs and didn''t share.


    Immediately, Big Aunt roared angrily. This was preposterous, didn''t they know that sharing was the only way for every member of the pride to live comfortably?


    Nalii didn''t budge at the roar, she just looked at Big Aunt with a mocking gaze. Her claws were already out, she was ready in case this devolved into a fight.


    Big Aunt chose not to take any action though. She still remembered how she treated the three, maybe that wasn''t enough.


    A rift was slowly forming between the two groups and Kael was at the center of it all, subtly fanning the flames.


    Nalii and the other two decided to sit out on the next hunt, to avoid any conflict. Besides, the kill Kael had given them was enough.


    The next zebra that was caught was an old female. By the time they were done eating, both adults and cubs, there were still leftovers. The pride leader and Uncle didn''t eat out of it, they had already eaten their fill from the first zebra.


    Even with the leftovers, Big Aunt was not willing to let those three lionesses come close to it. She stayed around, waiting for the vultures to finish everything until only bones were left.


    Kael shook his head when he saw this, ''Now you''re just pushing them to me,''


    Now that the hunt was over, they got up to leave one after another. The pride formed a convoy once again, with the pride leader at the front with his brother, Big Aunt behind leading the other lionesses.


    Nalii, Priya, and Diane were far behind. The distance between them and the rest of the pride was enough for someone to think they were two separate groups.


    Under the setting sun, the pride finally arrived at the hill den. They had other dens scattered around the territory but they mostly stayed at this one because of how iconic it was.


    A large hill, which they barely climbed except for some occasions. A few tall trees that acted as shade against the sun and sometimes the rain. And finally, a few small caves that had been dug out at the base of the hill.


    The caves were a bit small and tended to gather heat so the lions didn'' really enjoy staying there all the time.


    The den had almost everything that they needed, if only the river was closer, it would be better.


    Kael took note of all this, just in case he wanted to find a den for himself in the future.

 Chapter 25: We Were Conquerors

    Chapter 25: Chapter 25: We Were Conquerors"It is a shame that we do not know ourselves well enough to have confidence in what we do as a race."


    A male lion the size of a buffalo with golden fur opened his mouth to speak. He sat on the edge of a cliff while overlooking countless lions and lionesses.


    His voice spread far and wide, ensuring that all heard him.


    Among the receivers of his speech were lion prides of different kinds. Most were prides where the males led and the females were the consorts, while very few had larger females as the leaders with males as the consorts.


    "You all possess a power within you that comes from your heart. Yet you know nothing of it." The golden lion continued.


    "My predecessors left your ancestors, their responsibility to their whims, and they failed in every aspect apart from reproduction.


    No lion among you lives beyond the age of one hundred and fifty years. Long ago, this wasn''t even considered middle-aged.


    No lion or lionesses among you can bring down a tier 1 mammoth on your own. Long ago, this would be considered a right of passage for the young.


    None of you have territories that span across continents. We were once conquerors..."


    Reaching this point, the golden lion''s voice broke up, as if he was holding himself back from crying.


    The listening lions could almost taste the disappointment and sorrow in the atmosphere. Their ears dropped and their heads lowered.


    On a normal day, none of the prides would ever think of being together in the same place at the same time and be so peaceful. But today, they had gathered because of the special lion on the short cliff edge.


    "We used to have entire realms as vassals to our kingdom. Every lion was considered a noble. I always wonder what exactly happened to cause our downfall.


    Our kind has declined so much that we now have to chase our food as though we beg for our subjects to feed us. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    SINCE WHEN DID KINGS BEG FOR FOOD!" The lion shouted angrily as he stomped his paws on the ground, causing cracks to spread all the way to the bottom of the cliff.


    He wasn''t angry at the lions before, he was angry at those that came before him. His rage flowed to the audience, filling their eyes with the same anger and making their blood boil.


    "Crocodiles snap at us when we drink water, Elephants stomp their feet to warn us, Even the hyenas dare to steal from us.


    Oh, great lions, the legendary conquerors of worlds. How far have we fallen. There was a time when our roars commanded all of creation and evolved to bow at our feets."


    The audience had long entered a dreamy state. They imagined themselves in that era where they didn''t have to face the humiliation they faced now.


    Each one of them felt like a noble who had lost their nobility. It was sickening, it was a feeling that came straight from their very essence.


    "But those days can be renewed, my kinsmen. There is no rule that says we can''t achieve the heights we once reached. We could even go beyond.


    I, Noel, am ready to take you all to such heights. Even if it comes at the cost of my life. I cannot bear one more day of watching ourselves settle for less."


    *BAM!*


    As he spoke, Noel''s chest erupted in a golden bright light. A fan-shaped wave swept out of his body to the lions.


    As soon as the light touched them, the lions began to feel their heartbeat change rhythm. A feeling of satisfaction overcame them as their eyes began to express new things.


    "For the sake of futures, I compel the Primordial laws to awaken your lionheart. No price to be paid, all I ask is that you join me on our journey to restore the lion race to the top of the world."


    *BADUMP


    BADUMP


    BADUMP


    BADUMP


    ...


    The sound of all hearts having a synchronized beat affected the very reality around them. A concentrated invisible sound wave spread out for kilometers, following the rhythm of the heartbeats.


    Some lions could not control themselves any longer and let out terrifying roars. Their roars shook the earth and parted the clouds.


    Noel pranced around the edge of the cliff, "YES! Claim it for yourself.


    The Flaming Lionheart, those of you with this lionheart shall bring a raging inferno to wherever you go. You shall burn the worlds that don''t submit.


    Water Lionheart bearers, the creatures of the deep can no longer rejoice for they are now on our menu. We shall chase them down to the deepest of trenches.


    Wind lions, spread your wings and dominate the skies. Let the clouds be with you.


    Earth lions, bless your ways with the power of stone. Your roars shall cause earthquakes and your territory you be plentiful.


    The Fortune Lionhearts bring luck and wittiness to whichever lion possesses it. Use it for the greater good of our kind.


    Veggie Lions, your kind may be misunderstood but you bring life and serenity to lions as a whole. Your value is endless.


    Those of you who would wield the power of the frost, show no mercy to your enemies. Let your enemies know what it''s like when hell gets cold.


    The warriors among you, the world breakers, no words are needed. Be wild and savage.


    And you who have discovered your access to the power of the soul. I support your deceitful nature, I support your untrustworthiness, I support the delirium.


    ..."


    Noel went on the address all fourteen groups of lions, making sure that none of the wielders of these powers felt left out.


    He set his burning gaze filled with determination on his kinsmen. He saw the fiery eagerness to make history in their eyes and this satisfied him.


    He turned around on the cliff to look at an old feeble lion behind him. Even though this lion was old, his aura was stronger than all the other lions combined.


    His fur was faded and his mane a greyish color. There was a golden crown mark on his forehead that flashed and disappeared in an instant.


    At the end of this lion''s tail was not a tuft of hair like other lions had. Instead, the tail ended in a ball of glowing multicolored light.


    The old lion nodded to Noel and Noel returned with a nod of his own to his mentor.


    Noel looked at the audience which was getting rowdy with the changes that they were experiencing.


    "LET THE CONQUERING BEGIN!"

 Chapter 26: Growing Up

    Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Growing UpKael opened his eyes one more time to see the morning sky and feel the morning breeze.


    Finally, after two years, he had stumbled upon a memory that explained a bit about the type of lionhearts.


    Time after time, ever since he started having more and more access to the memories of the primordial lions, he had searched for a way to know more about the powers that lions possessed.


    Ever since he saw those exotic appearances those lions and lionesses in Bethel''s memories had, he knew that there was more to the lion race.


    Added Katari, who was very different from the lionesses in that particular memory. This had confirmed his belief that the lions were divided into subspecies.


    These lion subspecies were not as simple as the subspecies he knew of from his previous earth life.


    But the memories of the Primordial Lions were truly complete. It contained almost everything that they ever experienced when they were alive.


    Because of this, Kael mostly found short memories that involved the Primordial doing mundane stuff like eating, strolling, lazing around, and many other things that weren''t really impactful or contained satisfactory information.


    ''So there are fourteen different subspecies of lions based on the Lionheart type and Katari is a space lion with the space lionheart,'' Kael thought.


    When Noel was talking to the fourteen different groups of lions, he had purposely mentioned their traits as a way to motivate them for his cause.


    His thoughts over these groups were naturally transferred to Kael. Now that Kael knew what needed to be known, a lot of his other plans could be pushed forward.


    His lack of knowledge concerning these matters made it difficult for him to take actions that he needed to take. Going forth blindly without sufficient knowledge could be very detrimental to him.


    Now that Kael was three years old, he had changed both in appearance and mindset.


    Physically speaking, he was quite large. He was now rubbing shoulders with some lionesses, gone was the little cub. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But he was still some centimeters away from being close to the pride leader. In terms of height, he was closer to Uncle.


    Now that he was no longer a cub, the mass of golden fur covering his body became more eye-catching. To hunt had become a bit difficult for creatures that weren''t color blind.


    If he didn''t use the camouflage ability he got from Katari, this would have been a major issue. The camouflage ability itself wasn''t an actual invisibility technique, rather it was an instinctive manipulation of the space around the user to appear invisible or blend into the surroundings.


    Kael had initially wondered how the camouflage ability worked even though he used it too many times. With Noel''s memory, this wasn''t hard to guess anymore.


    His mane hadn''t yet grown out but it was almost there. As of now, the mane on his neck was sparse and dark, his muscular shoulders were still exposed. The dark mohawk that extended from his head to the center of his back was enough for him for now.


    His claws had already gone full metallic looking, even his teeth. It looked like his whole skeleton was made up of a metallic material that was golden in color.


    The change to his bones was not natural but came about after Zabita joined the pride a year ago.


    Kael learned after scouring the memories for a long time that the primordial lions didn''t always have metallic claws all their life.


    For example, in the last memory he had access to, Noel didn''t have golden claws despite being fully grown.


    Metallic claws were obtained after a primordial lion got the ability of a certain type of lionheart.


    Now, any time he bared his claws, they would reflect the nearest light source and garner quite the attention. However, the sharpness of each claw was not to be underestimated.


    Kael had now gotten used to the feeling of his claws easily tearing through most things.


    One time, he tried to bite the neck of a young zebra to suffocate it. Instead, he ended up tearing the whole throat away from the neck, his teeth were that sharp.


    Kael was confident that his bodily weapons were on the same level if not stronger than the pride leader''s.


    In terms of mindset, Kael had become more mature and goal-oriented. Before he was still learning how to peel away his antisocial characteristics, now he had gone beyond that.


    One of the things that influenced his mindset the most was the memories of the Primordial Lions, especially Noel.


    Noel was an interesting Lion, even among the other Primordials. He was what the humans of Kael''s past life would call a fascist.


    Anytime Kael scoured his memories, he found Noel always thinking about how to lead the lion race to conquer worlds. Even when Noel was idling about, he was still thinking about it.


    In Noel''s eyes, every creature was inferior to the Lions. He saw lions as the de facto nobility of the universe and every other thing was meant to bow at their feet.


    Noel was so sure and determined of his ideology that he became a borderline extremist. Genocides and forced slavery were the usual occurrences in his mind at some point.


    Unfortunately or fortunately, this mindset had begun to influence Kael''s way of thinking.


    Although he was not too intent on the genocide and slavery part, the conquering and nobility part was practically part of his existence now.


    Whenever Kael looked at anything that wasn''t a lion, it was like a nobleman looking at a beggar, though wasn''t quite aware of this yet.


    "The Conquering? What is that?" Noel had mentioned this right before Kael was pulled out of the memory space.


    Shaking his head, Kael pulled himself out of his thoughts. Today was a very special day, there was time to think later.


    What was happening today? The pride leader had finally gotten tired of a certain someone and it wasn''t Pavel or Kael, it was Burdo.


    Contrary to Kael''s original expectations, the pride leader didn''t end up expelling Pavel.


    Over the series of months, Pavel realized that the only way to enjoy the things he wanted was to become the pride leader. But challenging the pride leader was no different from suicide.


    Alas, when he looked at Uncle and how he enjoyed a percentage of the benefits. He got to eat well, and there seemed to be some times that he frolicked with a lioness and the pride leader turned a blind eye to it.


    All the privileges that Uncle enjoyed could be his, as long as he was subordinate to the Pride leader.


    The options remained, either leave the pride to establish his own. This came with a high level of uncertainty.


    Or submit to the pride leader and continue living a privileged lifestyle.


    Pave chose the second option. This process didn''t come about without some ups and downs.


    The pride leader had to beat him up a couple of times to let him know the true difference between both of them.


    Kael had watched all this play out with his observant gaze, a trait he still had from being an introvert.


    Now Burdo, Kael''s brother, was completely different. Burdo could be described as someone who had issues with figures of authority.


    If Burdo had kept his reserved nature through the years, it would have been fine and there wouldn''t have been as much commotion as there is now.


    The food, the females, the status, the authority, he wanted it all. He was never hesitant to throw challenging roars at the pride leader whenever he wasn''t doing something else.


    To Burdo, there was no other option, either he became the pride leader or no one would be pride leader.

 Chapter 27: Expelled

    Chapter 27: Chapter 27: ExpelledA young male lion with scant hair on his neck pranced around the field restlessly.


    He was alone, no companion whatsoever, as he had always been. This was Burdo.


    Currently, he was roaring at the sky as if challenging the heavens. His roar was deep and mature, striking the listeners to believe he was confident.


    *ROOAAAR!*


    Another roar came from ahead, louder and more fear-inducing despite the distance. With the roar came a massive lion running towards Burdo with anger.


    The pride leader had had enough, his eyes glowed a fiery red that matched the glow coming from his.


    The rage within him had nowhere else to go. If he didn''t vent on Burdo today, he wouldn''t be satisfied.


    He had thought that the golden cub with the mysterious aura would be the most troublesome one among his male offspring.


    Kael turned out to be a pretty chill lion as he grew older. The only unsettling thing was how Kael kept causing division within the pride without really doing anything.


    Pavel had become his subordinate and there was no need to worry about him strength-wise for a long time.


    But Burdo was the personification of ''Mine Mine Mine''. At first, he was always keeping to himself, only taking action when it was time to eat.


    As he grew older, Burdo developed a deep desire for things that weren''t his yet. He was unresponsive when some females interacted with him but became overly aggressive when the same females interacted with other males.


    Even if he had eaten to his satisfaction, he didn''t like others eating. The beating he had received as a result didn''t really do anything.


    As soon as he could, he would disturb the premises with roars to challenge the pride leader.


    When it came to dealing with potential threats to his reign, the pride leader was very strategic.


    He knew that the first one or two years after a cub was born, the instinctive connection between mother and child would be so strong that breaking it would cause problems within the pride.


    Even if that cub was a potential challenger, it was always better to let the motherly instinct die off first.


    At the same time, there was still a possibility of turning the said challenger into a subordinate just like he had done with Uncle and Pavel, although a very low possibility.


    These factors contributed to him being willing to let Kael go when any other lion would have just killed him then and there for being so threatening.


    But if he did, not only would he have lost a potential subordinate, the pride females would have reacted badly and the mating season for many years to come would have been very unbearable for him.


    Now that Burdo and the others were older, the instinctive bond between mother and child should have worn off, making it easier to dispose of them without opposition from the consorts.


    Burdo, seeing his father running towards him was a bit fearful but the greediness in his eyes overshadowed that fear. He wanted everything that his father had.


    The temperature kept on increasing as the pride leader drew closer. Burdo subconsciously took a step back but when the pride leader was upon him, he lunged forward with all the power he could muster.


    *BAM!*


    A heavy paw found its way to Burdo''s belly and he had the wind knocked out of him. His entire body was slapped away like a weightless pest.


    Kael, who was watching from a distance, could not help but stand up in shock. ''Did he get stronger?''


    Burdo was not yet fully an adult but that didn''t mean he didn''t have a tremendous weight. Even though the pride leader was strong, he shouldn''t have been able to fling Burdo the way he did just now. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The pride leader didn''t wait for Burdo to get up before descending upon his son. Red hot claws flew through the air.


    Burdo reacted by laying on his back with all four of his paws facing upward, this was a defensive posture.


    When in this position, he could defend himself better with four limbs instead of two. But to be in this position was to mean he was already half defeated.


    Kael didn''t know if he was seeing things or if the pride leader was intentionally holding back.


    Attacks that would have broken Burdo''s limbs by now only left scorched claw marks.


    The sound of father and son growling over and over at each other resounded for close to a minute.


    The pride leader eventually clamped down on Burdo''s neck. Burdo could feel the unnatural heat burrow into his defenseless skin. Now, his eyes were clear.


    All that was needed was for the pride leader to twist his massive head or twitch his jaw muscles for Burdo to be as good as dead.


    The pride leader, however, didn''t. He kept Burdo in a lock, waiting for his son to do the needful.


    ''Don''t submit...'' Kael thought, wanting to learn more about the pride leader.


    Burdo had come to the realization that his strength did not match his desire. How was he supposed to have everything his father had if he couldn''t even land a scratch on him?


    He relaxed his body and stopped kicking his feet in retaliation. This was an act that could more or less be seen as a sign of submission.


    Kael sat down while shaking his head, he immediately lost interest in this fight. The lionesses that had been watching were expressionless, including Nalii.


    Nalii had long lost her attachment to her son Burdo. Right now, he was just another male lion she knew fighting for dominance.


    The pride leader released Burdo, leaving four shallow burnt holes on his neck. Burdo had lost, what next now?


    The pride leader stood by the side, waiting for Burdo to get up.


    As soon as Burdo was on his four feet, he immediately took off in the opposite direction.


    The pride leader did not chase after him. He just watched as his son continued running until he was out of sight.


    Burdo was now officially expelled from the pride. The only other person that could threaten the stability of the pride right now was Kael.


    Fortunately or Unfortunately, the pride leader would not have to wait much longer before he faced his golden boy.

 Chapter 28: Exotic

    Chapter 28: Chapter 28: ExoticThe pride leader turned to Kael who looked back at his father.


    Their eyes jammed across the distance. One pair red, the other pair golden. Seconds passed with none of them shifting their gaze.


    The hair on the pride leader was already standing on end. A little more time of this staring contest and he would act.


    Finally, Kael turned around, not because he was scared, he just wasn''t interested in fighting the pride leader.


    The pride leader grunted, squinting his eyes at Kael''s shrinking back. He raised his head to the sky and gave a mighty roar.


    Some little grasses around caught fire before going out due to the ground''s wetness. For a brief second, the pride leader painted an apocalyptic scene with him at the center.


    Kael went to lie down under the shade of a tree. ''It seems my time is near,'' Kael mused as he enjoyed the morning breeze


    These moments of peace and serenity were what he enjoyed most. He would rather soak himself in a cold river all day or sleep under a tree perpetually.


    Unfortunately, this was not a lifestyle he could afford. He still had to hunt if he wanted to eat, he still had to draw out schemes to make sure he was at the top.


    Luckily, he wasn''t alone in this. Five young lionesses came to lie down under the shed with him.


    They rubbed heads with him affectionately, Kael responded in kind, as though he was used to this kind of greeting.


    Out of the five lionesses, four were Eidel, Ruda, Zabita, and Katari. All had an exotic appearance that set them apart from other lionesses.


    They were no longer the little cubs of before, a along with their growth came a sense of maturity and responsibility.


    Eidel for one now had fiery orange fur, which was not normal among the lion race. Her eyes were fiery red, just like the pride leader''s. Currently, the temperature around Eidel was high, no doubt, she was the same subspecies as her father.


    Ruda, just like Eidel also had the color of her fur changed. Hers was a light purple and occasionally, there would be sparks of electricity swimming through her fur like sea snakes in the ocean.


    Compared to the two sisters, Zabita looked more normal. Her fur was still brownish but it was very pale, even though she looked healthy. His claws which would expose themselves once in a while would give off a metallic glint because they were not made of metal.


    If not that her mouth was always closed, anyone would be able to see her sharp metal fangs that looked like they could tear apart the toughest of flesh and break the strongest of bones.


    Katari still looked the same way she looked after awakening her own lionheart. Light brown fur that looked well taken care of, deep black eyes, and poise of elegance.


    The last lioness among them was the one Kael called Olivia. She had yellow eyes, similar to Kael''s except dimmer and not as glittery. Her fur was the usual brownish yellow that most lionesses had.


    The most peculiar thing about Olivia was her size. She was on the large side, some would say. Amongst lions, she would be considered chubby.


    Kael could not see a single muscular feature through all that flab full of fat. Olivia was the most cheerful among all of them, despite the weight she should supposedly possess, she had no problem skipping around like a little cub. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Olivia was very important to Kael now that he knew what type of Lionheart she had.


    Olivia was the last cub who still treated him normally even after the stigmatism from Big Aunt.


    A natural who knew how to appreciate the one that fed her once. Kael offered her a contract after some deliberation which she accepted.


    Initially, after adding her to his pride and helping her awaken her Lionheart, he was confused.


    Olivia didn''t have any physical changes other than getting chubbier and she had never shown any special abilities.


    Now Kael knew that Olivia was simply a fortune lion, his mind was cleared like the sky, ''She would be very useful in the future.''


    Six big and exotic cats lay under one tree, casting quite a sight. The combined aura from them made the other lionesses not dare to get close.


    This was how it had been for some time, the pride looked like it was divided into two factions. The pride leader''s faction and Kael''s faction.


    On the pride leader''s side were eight lionesses and two subordinate lions, Pavel and Uncle. While on Kael''s side were just six young lionesses.


    Those who were still on the sidelines were Nalii, Priya, Diane, and some sub-adults born at the same time as Kael.


    The pride leader could also be said to have seven and a half lionesses on his side because Big Aunt could no longer be considered fully capable of most things as of now.


    Creatures are born and they die eventually, unless they could break the chains of mortality, they would forever be a slave to this rule.


    Big Aunt was not exempt from this rule. She might have looked bigger and healthier two years ago but that was just how old age started.


    She had thought she was in her prime but she was very far from it. Now she was old and weary, she had long stopped going for hunts and if not for the pride leader, she would be considered a burden for the Pride.


    Perhaps, not all lions were cruel and ruthless. Other lions may have left the weak and elderly to die in the wilderness but the pride leader didn''t.


    The pride leader showed surprising kindness and care to Big Aunt. So surprising that even Kael was surprised.


    Since Big Aunt could no longer go hunting, she stayed behind to watch over the latest batch of cubs, of which none were hers.


    The pride leader would always bring a large piece of meat for her provided that the hunt was successful. He was unfailing in this responsibility he had put upon himself.


    Kael guessed that it was much more than loyalty. Maybe guilt or a kind payback for something she did in the past but he knew it was not just loyalty.


    There was surely more to the pride leader than he was showing. Kael just didn''t know how deep it was.

 Chapter 29: Wolves And Spiders

    Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Wolves And SpidersKael still wanted Priya, Diane, and his mother, Nalii, to join his side.


    For two years they have been sitting on the fence, waiting for who might make a move.


    Ever since Big Aunt''s stigmatism, the trio had found it hard to enjoy peace within the pride.


    They might have assumed that their actions would be forgotten but Big Aunt was the personification of pettiness. Even though she knew how overprotective mothers could be, she didn''t care.


    What had mattered to her was that they offended her boo, the pride leader. She wouldn''t let them go so easily. Her influence was no joke especially with the pride leader personally supporting her.


    Since lions could not talk, the three lionesses could not ask for forgiveness. Even if they could, it was hard to tell if Big Aunt would listen.


    Big Aunt was able to do this so easily without mental inhabitants because she and the three lionesses were not from the same generation.


    Whatever feeling she had towards them was only superficial. Their previous cooperation was because they were in the same pride.


    It wasn''t like three absent lionesses would affect their hunting rate of success.


    While Big Aunt always had it in mind to exempt Nalii and Co from all her privileges, Kael was doing the opposite.


    With the help of six lionesses with awakened lionhearts, their rate of success while hunting was way higher than the Hot Lion''s pride. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They were able to hunt more prey and have enough spare to give to the three lionesses.


    Nalii was naturally grateful, and so were Priya and Diane. It had become a norm for them now to follow Kael''s group when it was time to hunt.


    Even if Big Aunt changed her mind, it was highly questionable if Nalii and her sisters would even consider returning.


    This is what vexed the pride leader for so long. He felt like he was the reigning king in a divided kingdom.


    Normally, the stigmatization would have not lasted long and he would just sit and watch Big Aunt restructure his consort base.


    But with Kael doing too much and Big Aunt being unreasonably petty for some reason, it was hard for anything to work.


    The three lionesses knew that they had a better option, they just didn''t want to fully leave the pride yet.


    The lionesses that were on Kael''s side were so exotic and beautiful, when it came to the lion aesthetic, they were top-notch.


    He had always wondered how he could get those five lionesses for himself. But even they emitted auras that spoke volumes of their individual strengths.


    He had noticed that he and Eidel had very similar scents and appearance. Except his fur was still regular color with a tinge of reddish-orange here and there.


    What was most painful for him was that those beautiful lionesses only liked staying near that golden son of his.


    Kael could guess the thoughts of his father whenever he caught him staring at the five. The lust in his eyes was very pronounced and unhidden.


    He was more focused on finalizing one of his schemes. He was finally close to making Nalii, Priya, and Diane his pride members.


    He would have done it before but he was sure if they would accept. Summoning the Primordial laws to conjure a contract for him cost energy.


    And that energy would be gone whether they accepted the contract or not. Instead of trying continuously, it was better to wait until he was absolutely sure they would accept.


    As a matter of fact, Kael knew that they would accept. They had already fallen so deep into the lifestyle of Kael''s group that they could not bear to imagine what would happen if he left the pride.


    ''Yes,'' A devious grin made its way across Kael''s face. Once the possibility of him leaving the pride permanently was made clear...


    ########


    Within the deep forest, far from the wild plains the Hot Lion pride resided, trees stood high as their leaves formed a green canopy over the land.


    It was quiet, but not too quiet. Occasionally, there would be the sound of small critters and roars of strange animals that would echo from one place to the other.


    The fog was visible but also see-through. It added a layer of mystery to the whole forest.


    Suddenly, the ground trembled. The earth rose a bit, forming a mound before collapsing.


    The sudden trembling of the ground was followed by birds flying into the air and a complete absence of sound.


    *HISS HISS HISS*


    A weird hissing sound came from beneath the trees. It sounded like it was coming from multiple sources, thousands maybe.


    This hissing sound seemed to break a dam as animals within the forest immediately started running for their lives. They ran as far away from the hissing sound as fast as they could. But some of them were too late.


    A group of six grey wolves ran with incredible speed, their legs helping them cross multiple meters at once. These wolves were large and some of them had strange muscle alignments.


    Their form weaved through the trees, making haste to get to safety.


    Just then, as they were about to pass a particularly thick tree, the ground beneath them exploded.


    Stones and dust spread everywhere with force. Four of the six wolves made it out, they were the ones with the largest frames.


    The wolves skid across the dirt ground as they came to a forced stop. Looking back, they could see eight two-meter-long gigantic spider legs sticking out of the ground.


    Two of these spider legs had stabbed right through the wolves. One was already dead, with its heart and lungs directly impaled. The other was still alive, albeit paralyzed since the sharp leg divided his spine into two.


    Blood gushed out of the wolf''s mouth, spurring one of the wolves to make an irrational decision.


    *AWOOOOOO!*


    A mighty howl erupted from his chest, his body began to enlarge and red veins began to fill his eyes. Within seconds, he had gone from an ordinary large wolf to double the size.


    Ignoring his comrade''s disapproving barks, the berserk wolf lunged himself at the spider legs. The ground beneath him cracked from all the strength he leaked out while running.


    Unfortunately, heroes like him tended to die young. Another set of eight spider legs burst out of the ground, to the shock of the berserk wolf.


    All eight legs easily pierced into his body despite his enhanced defense. He died instantly after one of the legs pierced through his brain from his jaw.


    The remaining three grey wolves did not dare dilly dally. Although there was hatred in their eyes, they could only run for now. The enemy was too strong.


    Across the vast forest, scenes like this kept on happening. They occurred all the way to the very edge, past the wall of trees that separated the wild plains from the wild forest.

 Chapter 30: Kael vs The Pride Leader

    Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Kael vs The Pride LeaderOne week late, on a dark evening. The clouds were clear as they made way for the bright moon to shine its light on the wild lands.


    The night breeze filled the lions with a sense of freshness. There were deep puddles of water around the dens, they wouldn''t have to go to the river for a long time.


    This time would be the time most lions were preparing to sleep. But they were all wide awake, staring at the scene that was taking place under a tree.


    Kael who had been sleeping under the tree had woken up to a mild surprise. On his left was Uncle, calmly looking at his lying figure.


    On the right was Pavel, his expression was one of contained hatred. Soft growls escaped his lips once in a while and his claws were already bared. There was not much difference between him and Uncle now, both had the same mane size and body size.


    And standing in front of Kael was the pride leader, too close for Kael''s comfort. The pride leader looked down from his point of view.


    He didn''t growl or bare his claws, he simply stared. Kael stood up, his movement carefully followed by the pride leader''s.


    Kael turned his head to look behind him. He saw Katari and the other lionesses on his side standing behind him.


    Katari had her body lowered and her limbs poised to launch herself at the enemy at any moment. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One wrong step forward and all hell would break lose. Kael slapped his tail on the ground and shook his head signaling for Katari and the rest to stand down.


    Kael walked forward until he stood right beside the pride leader. The pride leader had to tilt his head down and sideways to look into Kael''s golden eyes.


    Kael too looked up slightly so that he could lock gaze with the pride leader.


    He knew why the pride leader was here, he had come with choices. Either submit like Pavel or get expelled like Burdo.


    Kael never planned on staying where he wasn''t welcomed. He already had it at the back of his mind that he would have to leave one day. There was still a world out there waiting for him to discover after all.


    But before he left, a test of strength was necessary. The preys he hunted were not special at all and could easily be caught with sufficient skills.


    Most predators stayed away from the pride because of the pride leader. The only animal Kael had ever seen stand up to the pride leader was that hyena three years ago.


    Kael had never had a chance to test out just how significant his transformation into a primordial lion was.


    Two years ago, he would never have thought of attempting what he was about to do. However, constantly going through the memories of multiple primordial lions every night had left a mark on his thinking process.


    The pride leader began to growl, and Kael was not breaking eye contact. This was an insult, this was disrespect, this was a challenge.


    One second, they were still staring at each other, the next thing they threw themselves at each other.


    A blur of red and gold sped around and claw marks began appearing on their bodies.


    ''FUCK'' Kael screamed within as he made distance between the both of them. That claw attack from the pride leader had not been able to do serious damage but it had left burning scratch marks on his side.


    Perhaps, now, Kael was finally understanding the gravity of what was happening. But he still didn''t get scared, rather his pupils shrank to express his eagerness. The pain made him feel awake like he had awakened his lionheart all over again.


    The pride leader looked at his son with calmness mixed with caution. He didn''t seem to be fazed by the small bout just now.


    Katari almost jumped when she saw the three claw marks on Kael''s side. She and the other lionesses were getting agitated.


    Pavel and Uncle stood in front of them, baring their fangs and growling to warn them from interfering.


    Katari didn''t even give the two lackeys a second look, the only reason she hadn''t taken action was because Kael had not asked her to. But there was a limit to her patience.


    Golden claws shot out from Kael''s paws as he ran towards the pride leader. They clashed and their paws met.


    A muffled bang sound was released as the pride leader and Kael felt a numbing sensation on their paws.


    The pride leader lunged for Kael''s unprotected neck, intending to end the battle swiftly as he did with Burdo.


    Kael saw the incoming jaws and hurriedly ducked. He then raised his head up, grabbing onto the pride leader''s neck from below.


    This action was futile as the mane on the pride leader''s neck was too thick for Kael''s bite to be effective. To Kael, it felt like he was trying to bite thin iron strings bound together.


    The pride leader stood on his hind legs, amazingly lifting Kael''s entire body along with him. Then with fierceness, he slammed his body down knowing fully well that Kael would be beneath him.


    Kael''s mind went blank, it was as if he was being crushed by a boulder, he never knew the pride leader was this heavy.


    The weight was crushing him and the pride leader''s mouth was drawing closer to his mane-less neck.


    For a second, he wanted to signal for Katari and the rest to attack, but he refrained.


    Suddenly, purple electric bolts began surfing through his body. The electric bolts swam through the surface of his body, making a striking contrast with his golden fur.


    The pride leader who was lying on top of Kael, received the full brunt of the electric attack.


    His massive body was thrown off by the shock and he rolled on the ground uncontrollably in pain. This did not last though as he soon overcame it before charging straight at Kael.


    Fortunately, Kael had also gotten up in time. They clashed again, the pride leader tried to bash Kael away but Kael was stronger than he looked. His hind legs sank into the cold ground as he stood his ground without moving.


    This time, the pride leader''s jaws locked on Kael''s neck. He intended to crush this unfilial son of his with all his might.


    Kael responded by circulating the electric currents around his neck. This shook the pride leader off.


    They resumed with their claws. The pride leader had his red hot claws and Kael had his metallic electric-coated claws to retaliate.


    The fight continued for minutes, they were evenly matched, and the pride leader knew this. If something wasn''t done, he would lose face in front of everyone.


    The pride leader''s eyes began giving off a bright red glow. His chest space had the same glow and the temperature around him was becoming unbearable.


    *ROAAR!*


    *WHOOM!*


    A mighty roar was released by the pride leader, followed by a terrifying and visible heat wave.


    Kael, Pavel, Uncle, and the rest were all blown away by the force, even Eidel who had the same lionheart as the pride leader was not exempt. They looked up to see that the tree and the surrounding grass had all been set ablaze. The fire rose for meters, giving birth to an unbearably hot environment.


    The fire cast a bright glow on the dark surroundings that challenged for dominance with the moonlight.


    The pride leader slowly walked out of the raging wall of fire, one heavy and confident step at a time. His eyes settled on Kael''s figure.


    Kael stood there with some patches of his fur having been burnt off. He gazed unwaveringly at his father.


    They were equally matched, yes. But now it appeared that the pride leader was way more skilled with his powers than any other present.


    His lionheart didn''t seem to be fully awakened yet he had become strong enough to challenge and even beat up a young Primordial lion.


    Kael took this as a lesson, he still lacked experience. The pride leader could read his son''s expression, this was never a fight for dominance in the beginning. It was more like a test Kael had set for himself yet failed by a few errors.


    Kael was not petty, neither was he stupid and arrogant. This was the first time he had ever fought a lion so seriously and that lion was his father.


    He was not ashamed to accept this as his defeat. Whether he would accept defeat in the future was unlikely.


    Kael didn''t bow his head or do anything to signal his acceptance of defeat. He just turned around and walked away. Katari and the other lionesses in his pride hurriedly followed him.


    The flames died down as the pride leader relaxed. As he looked at Kael''s shrinking figure, his eyes didn''t carry any hatred.


    Uncle and Pavel came to stand beside him, they had conflicted expressions on their furry face. To think that golden guy would last so long against the pride leader and even force him to go all out.


    Kael didn''t immediately leave the Hot Lion pride territory. With five young lionesses by his side, he met Nalii, Priya, and Diane.


    They had been watching intently. If not that she had a bit of trust in Kael, Nalii would have done the same thing she did when he was young. The feelings she had never for her son were far stronger than what she had ever developed for the pride leader.


    Strings of golden light flowed out of the void and converged in front of the three lionesses, forming three contracts.


    These contracts were a bit different from the ones he had given Katari, Olivia, Eidel, Ruda, and Zabita.


    On the contract in front of Priya, it stated that the reward for joining Kael''s pride was the awakening of her Lionheart into a spirit lionheart. It was very specific about the type of Lionheart Priya would awaken.


    On Diane''s contract, the lionheart mentioned was the Warrior lionheart. On Nalii''s, it was the Veggie Lionheart.


    Kael had truly prepared for this day.

 Chapter 31: Transformations

    Kael learned on his own how to manipulate the content of contracts rather than leaving the Primordial Laws to do it for him.


    Previously, he just didn¡¯t know what type of lionheart to put. Luckily, after Katari, none of the new members awakened the same lionheart types. If not, Kael wouldn¡¯t know what to do.


    To prevent any mistakes from happening, Kael decided to be very specific in his contracts. As long as he knew what he was doing, he wouldn¡¯t have to fear having the same lionheart type in his pride.


    ¡¯OCD?¡¯ Kael wondered to himself.


    Now all that remained was for the three lionesses to accept the contract. The contract was pretty much the same as the others, the only change was the nature of the reward.


    Nalii was the first to accept her contact. The voice that appeared in Kael¡¯s head was mature, motherly, and feminine. It sounded like someone who was always serious-minded.


    The next was Priya who was urged by her daughter, Zabita, who stood beside her. Her mind voice was soft to hear.


    Diane followed. The only person she was remotely related to in this group was Nalii who she shared the same mother with. Seeing her sister accepting the contract and the expectant gaze coming from her nephew, she also accepted it.


    The voice Kael heard was filled with eagerness and excitement. Kael was really curious about what went on in the mind of this brute lioness.


    After accepting the contracts, their body began to undergo painful physical changes.


    Bones dislocated and fixed themselves, muscles flexed uncontrollably. Their fur began to fall off as new ones with different colors grew in their place.


    The three lionesses writhed in pain while the others just looked at them. The other lionesses had all experienced this pain so they knew how it felt, they also knew it wouldn¡¯t last and once they were done, the three would stand up as new and improved lionesses.


    Meanwhile, Kael turned away from them for now to look behind him. He saw the pride leader head to a weak and elderly-looking lioness, Big Aunt.


    He lay down beside her, under the affectionate watch of the other lionesses. The cubs and a few young adults loitered around them while Pavel and Uncle went out for patrol.


    ¡¯Nothing changes¡­¡¯ He mused, he was somehow happy for the pride leader. His position was backed by strength and he deserved it.


    Big Aunt stared at Kael¡¯s distant figure and the lionesses around him. If he was closer, he would have noticed the trace of envy within her eyes that appeared and disappeared instantly, like it had been beaten down the moment it reared its head.


    The pride leader didn¡¯t notice, he lay down beside her with bliss in his heart, satisfied that everything was back to the way it was.


    Kael could go back right now and refuse to leave, it crossed his mind. The pride leader wouldn¡¯t be able to kill him, he didn¡¯t have the ability to.


    ¡¯But how will I grow?¡¯ He asked himself. Doing so would just rile the pride leader up and there would never be a day of peace at all.


    ¡¯Should I come back in the future?¡¯ Kael was eager to see what would become of the Hot Lion pride in the future. He hoped to see it once again at some point.


    ¡¯I have to achieve some things first, good thing I have Noel and the others to guide me,¡¯ He referred to the Primordial lions.


    Turning back to his own group of lionesses, he could see that their transformation was completed.


    Nalii slowly stood up with newfound strength greater than she had ever had even in her well-rested state.


    Her fur had turned a healthy dark green and the patch of fur at the end of her tail was of a darker shade.


    Two bumps had appeared on her head at some point, it looked like she was in the process of growing horns. Kael felt weird about this. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wasn¡¯t it known that most herbivores developed horns so that they could defend themselves from carnivorous predators? Carnivores usually didn¡¯t need horns because they weren¡¯t defending themselves most times, rather they were the ones attacking.


    Seeing horn bumps on his mother¡¯s head, he could almost tell where her transformation was leading to, but he still left room for doubt. The Veggie lionheart, he would accept it either way.


    ¡¯No wonder Noel said that their ways may be misunderstood by most lions,¡¯


    Priya didn¡¯t have as much of a striking transformation as Nalii did. The most noticeable thing was how she shrank.


    Yes, when other lions were getting slightly bigger, she actually shrank by one or two inches. She became slimmer and a bit sickly looking, Kael didn¡¯t doubt the strength she could summon with her limbs though. It was safe to say she was very much stronger than any average lioness.


    Priya¡¯s eyes also seemed to have enlarged and exposed the incredible level of intelligence she now possessed. Her fur didn¡¯t change though, it remained the same way it was.


    Diane¡¯s transformation was quite¡­something. Her limbs looked like they were about to explode from the sheer size of her muscles.


    She now towered over Kael by half a head. Kael knew that if she activated her main ability, she would grow way bigger than this. This was just how Berserker Lions were.


    Now that their transformations were complete, Kael led them to the river. The best type of den would be one that wasn¡¯t too far away from a stable water source.


    Not only would there not be a scarcity of food, but dry seasons would be more bearable.


    Despite it being nighttime, the group didn¡¯t feel discouraged to start this journey. Olivia was the most excited although Kael was sure that she would be the first to tire out with that chubby body of hers.


    Kael stayed in front, followed by Katari, and then the rest. Kael realized that Katari was to him what Big Aunt was to the pride leader, a trustworthy right hand.


    Now that thoughts of the future barraged his thoughts, he began to think of a name for their pride.


    When the time comes that talking would be natural for him, he would have to introduce his pride to other creatures of the world.


    ¡¯How about Ol-mytee Pride,¡¯ Kael thought. This was a word play for ¡¯Almighty¡¯ as they sounded similar. He didn¡¯t want to give it a simple name that anyone on the other side of the world could think of.


    As far as he was concerned, he was the only one in this world that knew how to speak english.


    ¡¯Ol-mytee it is then,¡¯ As soon as Kael decided, the golden tattoos on his and the lioness¡¯s forehead appeared again.


    The tattoos appeared different, there was now a weird character on the crowns in black color. Kael didn¡¯t notice this for now since he was at the front, he could not have noticed.


    A few hours later, in the cold of the night, the Ol-mytee Pride arrived at the river. It was really cold here and the only creatures he could see were a few gazelles that wanted to take a drink and the hippos.


    Kael was not really hungry for now so he didn¡¯t direct Katari to begin a hunting session. Now he was the pride leader of his own pride, Kael didn¡¯t need to hunt personally.


    Katari would just hunt and he would eat from their labor. As long as it was not a fatal threat or an animal that couldn¡¯t be brought down easily, he would probably remain inactive most times.


    Kael observed the river, it flowed from the right to the left. After careful thinking, he led them to go towards the right, against the river current.


    It was best if he walked toward the source of the water rather than to its possible endpoint.


    The riverside was also not the best place to rest, so they had to also be mindful of a resting point when they met one.

 Chapter 32: Crocodiles

    The group continued walking until the sun started rising from the horizon.


    By now they had come to a foreign part of the wilderness that Kael had never seen before. The river had gotten wider and he could only see small land figures on the other side.


    The river was calm, too calm.


    Kael was thirsty he decided to drink some water. The lionesses also followed him, clearly thirsty as well.


    As Kael bent down to drink the water, he noticed how even though it was morning and the sun had come out, there was barely any animal there.


    Compared to the Hippo Riverside, this place was empty. He wondered why.


    As they drank water, Eidel went into the river intending to take a bath. As she entered, steam began to rise in a mesmerizing manner.


    The image that she formed stunned Kael as he looked at it in awe. Eidel was that hot, literally.


    Slowly, the six other lionesses soaked themselves in the water, leaving only their upper halves exposed.


    Kael decided to follow them just in case. He remembered that there was a subspecies of lions that gave them power over water. Kael had only gotten a brief look at them through the memories.


    ¡¯If I could get a lioness with the Water lionheart¡­¡¯ Kael fantasized about going underwater and being able to breathe easily.


    He looked to the sky, seeing the bird flying high. ¡¯And there is also that subspecies that has wings. Now that is more desirable.¡¯


    But even though he said this, he knew why he didn¡¯t add the water lionheart or the wind Lionheart to the last three contracts for Nalii, Priya, and Diane.


    It was because he didn¡¯t need it for now. In order to conquer the sky or the sea, he had to first conquer the land.


    Everything had to be in order and well planned if not he would make a mistake. The mistakes Kael had made in his past life made it hard for him to be comfortable with going about this life unplanned.


    He didn¡¯t want to have any regrets. Even though regrets were inevitable in everyone¡¯s life, he wanted the ones he could live with, not the ones that would set him back mentally and progressively.


    As the sun got higher and the breeze picked up, the surface of the river got clearer.


    *RIPPLE*


    About a hundred meters away, there was a ripple on the surface of the river. Kael caught the sudden water movement from the corner of his eyes.


    Not just him, Katari and Ruda also noticed it immediately. Katari because she was always alert and Rida because she was the closet and also felt the pulse. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *RIPPLE*


    There was a ripple again, this time closer and more in number. Every single one of them noticed it this time.


    "There¡¯s something in the water" a voice appeared in everyone¡¯s mind at this moment. Kael recognized the voice as Priya¡¯s.


    ¡¯Since when could she do that?¡¯ Was what was probably in everyone¡¯s mind but they were too busy trying to leave the water to inquire more.


    Eidel was the first to leave, followed by Kael. The last person to leave the river was Katari as she waited for everyone to get to safety first while watching their backs. This was something Kael did not take note of when he was also leaving the water.


    Just when Katari¡¯s wet hind legs were about to leave the water, two massive long jaws shot out of the water behind her and grabbed her hips.


    *ROAR!*


    She let out a cry of pain, alerting everyone and causing them to look back. Kael¡¯s eyes shrank and his heart rate sped up when he saw what happened.


    Katari was fighting for her life. Her claws dug into the wet soil as she tried to hold on but the jaws were causing her so much pain that she couldn¡¯t focus well.


    Kael snapped out of his shocked state and immediately ran to her, he had already passed by the other lionesses before they also reacted and sped towards their pride sister.


    They couldn¡¯t be blamed though, the territory they had been living in didn¡¯t have this type of threat and it was difficult to react to something you were not familiar with.


    Nalii and the other older ones may have known about it but it was not certain. After all, they had been living in the Hot Lion Pride where the river had Hippos instead of crocodiles.


    Yes, the jaws that sprang out of the water were that of a crocodile. Kael instantly recognized it.


    Before he could reach Katari, the crocodile made one last tug before Katari was pulled into the river in one fell swoop.


    Kael nearly felt his heart rise to his throat. Without thinking, he jumped into the river, pursuing Katari and her captor.


    As if in direct coordination with each other, the other lionesses also dived into the water. The only lionesses that stayed at the river bank stayed at the river bank were Eidel and and Priya.


    "There are four of them!" Priya¡¯s screaming voice appeared in everyone¡¯s mind again.


    Eidel immediately activated the energy within her as well as her Lionheart. Her claws began to glow and her fur caught fire.


    She looked absolutely magical at this moment as her eyes revealed the rage she was currently experiencing.


    With a vigilant eye, she immediately slapped into the water with her left claw.


    Her flaming paws landed on the snout of one crocodile who was about to strike at her.


    The aquatic reptile felt like his nose was about to be broken off. For a moment l, he felt a searing heat that he had never felt before in his life.


    As soon as the paw landed, another one landed as well. Eidel didn¡¯t stop bashing him, even when he opened his mouth again, she slapped it shut.


    Meanwhile, Kael swam after Katari. He had heard Priya¡¯s message clearly and he didn¡¯t turn back, even when he knew that there were at least four crocodiles near him.


    His speed within the water was fast, with how tough his muscles were, propelling himself forward at fast speeds was not impossible. Luckily, the crocodile biting into Katari¡¯s hips could not swim away fast enough with Katari constantly kicking at his face and injuring him with her claws.


    But he was still not fast enough, soon, the crocodile would perform a death roll and that would be when Katari would truly be finished.


    Suddenly, a large figure sped past him aggressively, splashing water everywhere and heading straight for Katari.


    That figure was Diane who now looked to be twice her size with twice the muscles. The terrifying strength she got from this transformation allowed her to use her limbs like jet propellers.


    ¡¯Of course, what was I thinking,¡¯ Kael immediately resumed to his calm-minded self. He had completely forgotten that he and all the lionesses in his pride shared powers. They shared all their powers with him.


    Focusing on the power that he felt after Diane joined, he activated it as well.


    Instantly, he felt a searing pain shoot through his body for a short time and he felt his mind slipping into an unstable state.


    His bones cracked as they elongated and his muscles tore as they expanded. He felt power brimming through his entire body.


    His gold figure doubled in size, and his golden metallic claws grew longer, sharper, and jagged. His upper canines grew out of his mouth, giving him a ferocious look.


    With one kick from his hind legs, he instantly shot forward, splashing water everywhere he went.


    By this time, Diane caught up with Katari and the crocodile. As soon as she caught sight of the armored back through the water, she pounced down on it.


    The crocodile was already having to deal with the constant kicks he was receiving from this lioness who was surprisingly so powerful. All he had to do was get into deeper waters and he would perform a death roll, tearing this lioness to pieces and enjoying his meal.


    Too bad he could not achieve his thoughts as a heavy behemoth of a lioness pounced on him. The pressure she exerted on his armored back caused him to release Katari so that he could bite at Diane.


    As soon as he let go of Katari, she turned invisible out of instinct although her form could still be easily seen when she was still in the water.


    Now that Katari was safe, Kael didn¡¯t stop pursuing. He blurred past Katari and reached Diane who already had her long claws piercing into the two eyes of the crocodile which was underwater.


    Diane was practically using the skull of the crocodile to stabilize herself while she bit at his hard neck.


    Kael came like a wrecking ball and slammed his whole body into the crocodile¡¯s side, turning it over in the process.


    Diane was decisive even though her thoughts were now foggy. She got off the back before the crocodile rolled over allowing its belly to be exposed easily.


    With unhidden killing intent, Kael and Diane immediately started tearing into the crocodile¡¯s belly with ruthless might.


    There was no resistance as the crocodile had its intestines gushing out into the water, dying the surrounding water red.


    Kael didn¡¯t check to see if it was already dead, he looked behind him with worry in his eyes. There were still two crocodiles left.

 Chapter 33: Too Much

    Kael looked back to see Ruda, Olivia, and Zabita tussling with one of the crocodiles.


    Olivia hugged the tail dearly with all her might, not because she was trying to attack the crocodile but because she wasn¡¯t good at swimming.


    Her body fat made it easy for her to float on the water but moving around was a whole different matter. So she held on to the tail like she was holding onto her sense of direction.


    The crocodile was distraught by this. His tail was very powerful but with this heavy lioness hindering his movement, he could barely move forward or escape.


    Not to mention there was a pale-furred lioness with metal claws scraping at his back while another one was biting one of his front legs.


    No matter what, he had to make sure not to get turned over if not his soft underside would be exposed.


    Zabita¡¯s metal claws were sharp enough that they had no problem damaging his back and leaving long deep marks on his armor scales.


    Ruda¡¯s bites were even worse. The pain of electric currents passing through his body made him realize that this group of animals was not ordinary and weren¡¯t on the menu.


    But it was too late, he couldn¡¯t even swim away, he could only let out a whisper-like screech. Ruda placed her purple paws on the crocodile and pulled hard with her strong jaws.


    *RIP!*


    She ripped the limb right off, causing blood to spill into the water, turning it red. This marked the end because the crocodile could no longer stabilize itself in the water without all four of its webbed feet working together.


    Before he knew it, Ruda made it all the way to his shoulders, munching on the scaly skin with surprising speed.


    The crocodile, however, died from the electric shocks before anything else. Its body went limp and its lack of struggle gave a sign to the lionesses that the battle was over.


    Kael had just made it to them, they had finished that battle under a short amount of time, he had to commend.


    But there was still one missing crocodile. Priya had said that there were four crocodiles.


    One has already been slapped and half burnt to death by Eidel alone for the mistake of trying to attack her on land. She made quick work of the aquatic reptile as the smell of burnt flesh passed over the surface of the water to reach Kael and the rest.


    The second one had its guts torn out by him and Diane, while the third was here in front of him, electrocuted to death.


    ¡¯Where is Katari?¡¯ Kael asked as he remembered the main reason why this fight had even begun. One crocodile had dared to attack Katari¡¯s.


    There was a splash of water as something struggled at the edge of the river not far away from Eidel.


    Katari deactivated her spatial invisibility as she stepped out of the water, back first. Her jaws firmly held onto the thick tail of the last crocodile as she dragged it out of the water.


    Katari was pissed, very pissed. Kael could tell by how her eyes had turned completely black, all the white sclera from before was now missing. His gaze was soulless as if she was looking at ¡¯nothing¡¯ yet also looking at ¡¯something¡¯ at the same time.


    Kael sighed, he assisted Olivia in getting her bearings while he led the lionesses out of the river and walked over to Katari. Diane dragged the body of one crocodile while Zabita dragged another.


    They kept the body next to the burnt one that Eidel had killed.


    Katari successfully dragged the last crocodile out of the river even though it kept thrashing about. Interestingly, she was not interested in killing it, not yet.


    The way it was now, Katari could easily kill it after some claw attacks or bites, but she waited for Kael.


    Kael arrived and sat in front of the crocodile, facing its long snapping jaws. The other lionesses also came by and surrounded it. There was no longer any room for escape.


    Just a few minutes ago, it was happy that its comrade had caught one prey. He didn¡¯t care what type of prey it was as long as he got a share in it. He didn¡¯t even have a tongue so taste wasn¡¯t something he had ever worried about. Just filling his belly was enough.


    But here he was, struggling for his life on land, the worst place for his kind.


    Kael shrank down to his normal size, his golden jagged claws, and fangs went back to their normal size and his muscles relaxed. Now that his thinking became clearer, he felt more comfortable.


    He looked at Diane, still in her berserker form, who looked back at him. A nod from him was enough to send the message.


    Diane walked her massive muscled body to the side of the crocodile¡¯s mouth. The crocodile tried to snap at her paws but she moved them lightning fast.


    *BAM!*


    Like a hammer, she brought down her right paw on the upper jaw of the crocodile. The strength she applied instantly sent the lower jaw into the hard ground.


    Tiny cracks spread from the area as the crocodile frantically flailed its small limbs around.


    Diane ignored this, she lowered her head, opened her wide maw, and bit on the nose area of the crocodile¡¯s upper jaw.


    Her sabertooth-like long fangs dug into its hard skin effortlessly causing the crocodile more agony.


    Diane¡¯s neck muscles contracted as she pulled up. Despite the crocodile being known to have one of the strongest, if not the strongest bite force and jaw strength in the whole world, this one found it hard to resist Diane¡¯s monstrous strength.


    The upper jaw rose up under the forceful pull of Diane, exposing its rows of sharp pointy teeth.


    The lower jaw was about to be raised up too but Diane gently placed one of her paws on it. She easily bent away the sharp teeth by forcefully brushing them down.


    Kael looked at this with an incredulous expression. He had simply intended for Diane to be the one to kill the crocodile quickly.


    ¡¯She¡¯s doing too much,¡¯ Kael shook his head. Why was she using this as a way to show off her strength? Was all this necessary?


    The sight of Diane pulling on the jaws of a crocodile in opposite directions with her strength alone was incredible, he wouldn¡¯t lie. She reminded him of those muscle mommy¡¯s from Earth.


    Diane pulled the upper jaw to the maximum limit until a snapping sound was heard. All this while, Katari still bit onto the tail without letting go.


    With multiple wriggles from Diane, the top jaw was broken off. The crocodile was already dead, no longer moving its limbs in an attempt to escape.


    Kael looked behind him, there were more ripples in the river as time passed and they were slowly getting close. No doubt, these four crocodiles were not the only ones in this river.


    Dealing with four crocodiles was one thing, but fighting against more than a dozen was overestimating their abilities.


    Kael closed his eyes for a moment, reaching down to access the power that he needed right now.


    "Gather the bodies, we¡¯ll eat somewhere else," Kael spoke into their minds, although his voice was a bit loud and uncomfortable. It was his first time trying to speak to anyone telepathically.


    Each crocodile was more than three meters in length and incredibly heavy. The lionesses were strong but they could only drag a crocodile for some distance before they eventually get tired. Someone like Diane didn¡¯t have any problem going farther and even lifting most of the crocodile off the ground but her Berserker state could not be maintained forever.


    Diane dragged one alone, Eidel and Ruda dragged another, Zabita and her mother Priya dragged one, and then Kael and Katari dragged the last.


    Behind them was Nalii and Olivia who skipped happily, excited that she at least participated.


    Nalii walked with confusion clouding her eyes. The bumps on her head had grown a bit, giving hints on the style and type of appendage she was growing in her head.


    During the fight with the crocodiles, Nalii suddenly found herself, a really terrifying lioness in her own right, unable to fight.


    The thought of biting into the flesh of those crocodiles had upset her beyond her own understanding. The only reason she had jumped into the river after Kael and the rest was because she was worried about their safety.


    She was hungry but the meat of the crocodiles didn¡¯t look appealing to her at all, not in the way that she wanted.


    It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t like meat anymore, she just didn¡¯t know why her appetite was going haywire. A lot was happening to her body and she didn¡¯t know why or who to talk to about it.


    Luckily, the Ol-mytee Pride members were too busy discovering themselves to find offense in Nalii¡¯s lack of action when it was needed.


    Nalii was so puzzled that she didn¡¯t see the massive blood-red crocodile the size of a small house come to the surface of the river behind her before diving back in.


    S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 34: Glowing Green

    The taste of crocodile meat was unique. The meat was chewy and had a texture that Kael had never had in his mouth before.


    "It tastes like a cross between chicken and pork," Kael said telepathically while he munched on one of the crocodiles.


    Ever since he could talk with telepathy, he had always tried to communicate with the lionesses to increase their closeness. Communication was necessary if he wanted to build a strong relationship that didn¡¯t need contracts to solidify.


    Kael had only opened his mouth once to talk but it was hard and the action strained his vocal chords. He was not sure if the lionesses could even talk well if they tried to.


    In the memories, Noel, Bethel, and other lions and lionesses had no problem talking with the mouth of a lion. ¡¯Maybe it¡¯s a gradual thing,¡¯ Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What is chicken? What is pork?" Olivia¡¯s sly voice sounded in everyone¡¯s mind.


    Olivia could not do telepathy obviously, but Priya was able to fix that. She had somehow created a telepathic channel for all nine of them.


    This channel was a link between the minds of all members of the Ol-mytee Pride with Priya as an anchor. Kael wanted to be the anchor for this mind channel since he was the leader but he had not yet understood how it works.


    For Priya, this ability that came from the mind was almost instinctive, like Katari¡¯s ability to bend space around her. But Kael was a Primordial Lion, with a Primordial lionheart. He did not have these abilities naturally and only got them through the contracts. He would naturally have to expend some extra effort to be able to perform the same abilities.


    He gazed at Katari who was eating the tail of the crocodile she had dragged out of the water. Nalii was near her, eating out of the belly of the reptile.


    On Katari¡¯s hips, on the two sides, there were deep bite marks. Katari didn¡¯t seem bothered by the injury but Kael knew that she was hurt.


    "How are you doing?" He spoke to her privately.


    "I¡­am fine" She hesitated before replying in her mind.


    When telepathic communication was commenced, no languages were spoken. Rather, the message was sent in its rawest form and the receiver¡¯s mind processed it in the best way it could. Katari only needed to pass off her complex emotions and intentions and the message would be sent unproblematically to Kael.


    "No you¡¯re not," Kael said as he stood up, he had already eaten half of the crocodile alone and was filled up.


    He could literally sense the lie in her telepathic words. He walked over to her and sat down between her and Nalii.


    He looked closely at the wound. In the wild, it was very dangerous for a predator who relied on meat to be injured. It could affect hunting efficiency and the ability to defend herself.


    Katari didn¡¯t act like the bite holes were even there, she didn¡¯t even act like she was that hurt seeing that she was still able to pull such a heavy crocodile out from the river.


    But that was all a lie, she was aching and she was aching badly. She didn¡¯t want to appear weak in front of Kael at all.


    She knew that the way Kael treated her with more attention and put more trust in her meant that he saw her differently than the other lionesses. Kael was even more likely to be beside Katari at any moment than with any other lioness.


    She felt like she was Kael¡¯s right hand, always alert with a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, responsibilities Kael didn¡¯t give her¡­


    For the sake of the pride dynamic they were building, Katari didn¡¯t want to seem weak at this crucial moment, she didn¡¯t want to seem replaceable.


    Kael was oblivious to this, although he wouldn¡¯t really care about what she was thinking. All he wanted was for Katari to be well and healthy, not because she was not replaceable but because she was all he had.


    The hassle of finding another trustworthy lioness who also has the space lionheart was not something he wanted to go through again, even if he could. It wasn¡¯t like he could become a cub again and grow together with another cub, groomed specifically for this role¡­ ¡¯Is that even possible?¡¯


    Kael shook his head to remove the distracting thoughts. ¡¯If only there was a way to heal her,¡¯ He wondered.


    Currently, they were under a tree with an umbrella-like top that did a good job of blocking the afternoon sun.


    Kael made it a habit of not resting unless he was under some kind of shade especially if it was during the day. This was something that couldn¡¯t be removed from him, as a former human he was used to only feeling comfortable with some sort of roof over his head.


    Nalii who was looking at Kael and Katari and at how her son was looking at the wound on Katari¡¯s hips, couldn¡¯t help but feel bad.


    She had been right in front of Katari when the crocodile dragged her yet she was the last to enter the water.


    She now had a strong desire to do something about this injury if Katari. If only there was a way¡­


    She looked at the tree they were staying under. Unlike the rest, she could feel the vitality brimming within the tree. It was a very healthy tree that wouldn¡¯t have any problem living for many more years.


    This vitality, can it help? The thought flashed through Nalii¡¯s mind. The thought spurred her to make an impulsive decision.


    She connected to the rhythm of her heart, drawing on the power within her. The two bumps on her head began to glow a bright green color.


    Kael noticed the green glow from the corner of his eyes. He turned to see the horn bumps on Nalii¡¯s head glowing with her eyes closed.


    Before he could react, the roots of the tree beneath them shot out of the ground and wrapped around Katari¡¯s waist.


    Katari was flabbergasted, this was the second time she was caught off guard today. It left a really bad taste in her mouth.


    At first, she struggled to get the roots off her by biting them off. "Don¡¯t fight it" Kael spoke to her.


    Instantly, she exercised blind obedience and went still. Kael was a bit surprised at how Katari immediately listened to him. He was sure that the contract did not affect her mind. She could choose not to listen to him if she wanted, the only penalty would be a painful feeling that might not even be noticed at once.


    As Katari stood, waiting for whatever that wanted to happen to happen, Nalii focused her senses on the tree roots.


    She could feel the whole tree now that she was focusing on it, she could feel the vitality in detail and how it flowed from top to bottom and vice versa.


    She sensed the roots that wrapped around Katari and with added focus, she willed for the vitality to move to the roots that were holding Katari.


    There was barely any movement as the tree refused to listen. Nalii didn¡¯t give up, she resumed with a stronger will and greater determination.


    The vitality began to flow like oil through a pipe. Its movement was slow but at least it was moving.


    Nalii found a problem however, the vitality was flowing to the roots but it didn¡¯t enter Katari.


    Her brows furrowed and she gritted her teeth, she wasn¡¯t going to stop until she made sure Katari was okay. She herself knew the consequences of being injured in the wild, she had lost sisters to these injuries.


    The two horn bumps on her head suddenly grew brighter and bigger. The skin on the top tore apart to make way for the bony appendage that was making itself known.


    The vitality that was previously reluctant to move found itself moving with ease as if no longer having control over itself.


    Katari discovered that a cool feeling was being transmitted from the roots around her waist to her body. That pain she had been enduring from the crocodile bite was slowly being driven away.


    A few moments later, the tree roots uncoiled itself from her waist before digging back into the ground.


    The bite marks were gone, replaced by lustrous fur. It was like she was never bitten before.


    Nalii fell to the ground weekly, she felt drained of all her energy.


    Kael quickly dragged his half-eaten crocodile to her side for her to eat. The best way to recover her Lionheart energy was to eat.


    He knew this because whenever he created a contract, a large amount of energy would leave him. This was followed by a period of weakness that could only be gotten rid of after he had eaten something or slept.


    The three contracts he had created for Nalii, Priya, and Diane before leaving the Hot Lion Pride had cost him energy. Luckily, he had eaten and rested not long before that, if not he wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight that crocodile or fight his father earlier.


    And after the fight, all of them had obviously lost a lot of energy. This was a limit to the power Kael was very much aware of.


    Thankfully, they had crocodile meat. Kael allowed his mother to finish eating. Katari went ahead to show the others her hip, it wasn¡¯t so injured as they thought.


    She looked at them with a belittling gaze even though they returned it with genuine surprise and concern. ¡¯Hope this behavior doesn¡¯t cause trouble in the future,¡¯ Kael thought to himself while sighing.


    After Nalii had finished eating, all that was left were four crocodile heads, some bones scattered around, and the hard armored back.


    Kael wanted to take the armored crocodile back along but he didn¡¯t have hands or anything. After calculating if he would ever be in a situation to need them, he decided to let go.


    With all done and everyone ready, they resumed their journey under the afternoon sun.

 Chapter 35: The Cost Of Peace

    Kael was decently sensitive to directions so he knew where he had been and where he should go. It would be bad if he ended up rounding back to the Hot Lion territory.


    To his right was a distant mountain range, to his left was more and more flat plains. However, in front of him, where the breeze was coming from, Kael could guess that it led to a forest.


    The river he was following would eventually lead him to an ocean if he indeed followed it all the way to the end.


    And usually, oceans and forests were never too far apart. He could be wrong but this was as logical as he could get when it came to geography.


    So he and the lionesses continued following the river, albeit from a safe distance this time.


    At the same time, they didn¡¯t forget to experiment with their powers any chance they got. The only one who was clueless was Olivia Fortune Lion who didn¡¯t know exactly how her abilities were supposed to work.


    They walked for hours, meeting different animals, including those that they had never seen before.


    The moon rose into the sky as darkness soon enveloped the land. The group picked a nice tree to rest under for the night.


    Once again, Kael closed his eyes to facilitate his dreams with memories.


    #####


    "One two three¡­ FLAP!"


    "One two three¡­ Flap!"


    "One two three¡­ FLAP!"


    The sweet and instructive voice of a teacher echoed across the bright sky, traveling from cloud to cloud.


    Six feline figures zipped through the air with the wind approaching fast behind them.


    One of these figures was a lioness the size of a regular horse, she had a pair of massive brown wings with white-tipped feathers behind her.


    Each wing was magnificent, stretching for double her length and brimming with power.


    In front of her were four young, barely adult lion cubs, three males and three females. Their wings flapped according to the command of the lioness.


    One of these young lions had a peculiar fur of golden color covering his body. Each strand of fur blew through the breeze beautifully, causing the young lionesses to secretly glance at this young lion from time to time. Even the adult lioness teacher found herself weirdly looking at her student.


    "One two three¡­ FLAP!"


    "One two three¡­FLAP!"


    "Elias, you¡¯re going to crash if you don¡¯t learn how to flap well!" The lionesses shouted.


    "One two three¡­ FLAP!"


    "Aisha, you¡¯re putting too much strength into it, you want to remain above the clouds and not fly to space!" She scolded.


    The young lions and lionesses in front of her continued flying for hours, they witnessed the sun set behind them as two moons rose in the horizon. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That¡¯s enough, we shall land now and begin again next week. Now, land in front of me so that I can rate you." The teacher lionesses command with a stern gaze that sent shivers through five of the younglings.


    As if already choreographed, all six of the young lions and lioness tucked in their wings slightly at the same time.


    Gradually, they descended, passing through the clouds to meet an expanse of land that stretched as far as their eyes could see.


    They flapped their wings in a symphonic collection of beats, drawing closer and closer to the ground in the formation of a spiral with the golden young lion at the front.


    Waiting for them below was a magnificent white lion the size of a buffalo. His limbs were thick and well-toned, his mane was a pristine white and flowed back smoothly, not a strand out of place.


    On his back were two massive wings, folded neatly and elegantly. When they were tucked, one could still imagine just how big they would be when unfurled.


    As he stood there, he let out an oppressive aura that made them all, including the adult lioness, want to bow uncontrollably. Luckily she controlled herself.


    "Husband, I have brought them back," She said to the large male lion. The white lion simply nodded his head at her.


    "Silax, walk with me," He spoke in a light and stable voice. A cool breeze seemed to pass by as if excited to hear his voice.


    The two other young lions and three lionesses had a flash of envy pass through their eyes for a moment before they hid it quickly.


    The adult lioness quickly understood the queue and said to her five students, "Let¡¯s go," She had a smile on her face but her thoughts were the opposite, ¡¯if only I was the one to give birth to him,¡¯


    "Father," Silax said as he walked beside his father, he was tired and his wings were sore but he ignored it for another chance to talk with his father again.


    As they walked side by side, Silax could not help but admire his father the more as he looked at him, like he always did.


    In between the white lion¡¯s smooth mane were multiple feathers that matched the bunch of white feathers at the end of his tail.


    "Silax, do you know what you are?" The white lion asked.


    "No Father," Silax shook his head, his eyes filled with expectations. He had always wondered what he was but he didn¡¯t know the details.


    The pride leader continued, "I have asked some elders about it. In fact, I have been asking since you were born, since I signed that mysterious paternity contract.


    The heart type of a lion influences a lion from his or her mentality down to the bloodline. This allows the lion to evolve into the subspecies that would best be able to handle the power of the Lionheart.


    Hence why we have wings and feathers since we are Air Lions. But you aren¡¯t an Air Lion, even though you have wings like us.


    All I¡¯ve been able to gather is that you are a type of lion that is destined to unite all the species of our lion race under one banner.


    There have been tales of lions like you who shared the same color and aura that you have.


    Each of them have brought about changes and waves in their own era. Some have even revolutionized the way prides are formed. It is even said that we come from the first of them, although this is just rumors and can¡¯t be proved.


    Our pride is a peacekeeping pride and our drive for violence against our kin has been suppressed under my lead.


    I am glad that you have followed this path of mine. Your brothers and sisters are more interested in seizing territory than their own lives, it disappoints me.


    It is my dream to see that all lions remain united as one. Although that is a pipe dream knowing the true nature of our kind, hehe," The white lion gave a melancholic smile.


    Silax kept silent with a complicated gaze, he wanted to ask why his father was telling him all this. Indeed, he was an advocate for peace among lions but he wasn¡¯t taking it as seriously as his father thought he was.


    The white lion, seeing his son¡¯s perplexed expression, said, "It¡¯s not that I want to push my ideologies on you my son, I just hope that you can use this opportunity that your predecessors had.


    If you ever become a figure capable of reshaping the culture of our race, I just hope that you bring peace and harmony for generations to come.


    I hope through the heavens, the Cosmos, and the Nether, our race would be known as the most reasonable and rational of all."


    Silax nodded, his head, then he asked a strange question, "But father, peace usually comes at a cost, and most times that sacrifice is bloodshed,"


    The white leader was stunned as he paused his steps slightly before bursting out into a hearty laugh, exposing his four incredibly long canines. The wind around him became violent, threatening to blow Silax away. Silax could only strengthen his grip on the ground with his long bony white claws.


    "Peace doesn¡¯t come at any cost Silax¡­," The white lion said as he continued walking with a smile on his face. The wind calmed down, allowing Silax to catch up quickly.


    The white lion continued, "Peace doesn¡¯t come at any cost. It is the power to forcefully enforce peace that is costly, hehe. Not only is it costly it is satisfyingly corruptible," He finished while shaking his head.


    Silax didn¡¯t understand anything his father just said now. How was any of the things he said funny in the first place?


    The white lion shook his head, "There¡¯s still a lot for you to learn. All in due time my son, all in due time.


    Let¡¯s go meet your mother. She says we must leave this planet by next week if we don¡¯t want to get caught up in its apocalypse."


    "What about our subjects?" Silax asked worriedly, not out of care, but strangely out of hunger.


    "Don¡¯t worry son, we¡¯ve made preparations¡­"


    As they spoke, the two lions, one large and the other larger, unfurled their wings and flew into the sky. The flap of their wings sent strong winds in different directions around them.

 Chapter 36: Young Pride

    "So so so, my name is Ruda, hahaha. Kael, why is my name Ruda, why isn¡¯t it Eidel?" Ruda¡¯s excited voice kept ringing in their heads as she ran rings around the group at an incredible speed.


    Purple electric arc trails were left behind as she moved erratically.


    Kael shook his head, "Your name is Ruda because it fits you, Eidel is Eidel because it fits her," He said.


    "What about me?" Zabita said in the most dull tone Kael had ever heard, "Does Zabita fit me?" She asked with some sort of expectation.


    "Yes, it does¡­" Kael sighed, "Everybody¡¯s names fit them perfectly," He was tired of repeating the same thing over and over again.


    Who knew that explaining the concept of names to lionesses who were just developing their intelligence would feel so tiring?


    He had just decided to talk about the names he had given them, a way to start up a conversation so that they wouldn¡¯t be walking in complete silence.


    Now, for the last two days, any other conversation they had eventually circled back to the topic of names.


    "Son," Nalii called as she walked beside Kael. Kael turned to her to see her green-furred lion face.


    "If you named us, then who named you?" Nalii asked, garnering the attention of the others. Ruda came to a sudden halt as she stared intensely at Kael.


    "Uhm, I named myself," Kael stated confidently, this wasn¡¯t something he felt should be covered up too much.


    A flash of disappointment appeared in Nalii¡¯s eyes as they resumed walking, but she quickly hid it and moved on.


    Katari remained quiet most of the time, her deep black eyes observing everything around them.


    It¡¯s been two days since their encounter with those crocodiles. Kael had used their new form of communication to learn more about the personalities of his lionesses.


    Indeed, after getting to know more about them and how they thought, they really appeared vastly different from each other.


    However, Kael was confused if their current behaviors were caused by their lionheart or if they were like this from the start. He leaned more towards the idea that their personality was heavily influenced by their lionheart type.


    For example, Katari had always been quiet. She only made moves in the past when it was necessary, like when the Hot Lion pride leader wanted to attack him or when she was attacked by the crocodile.


    Most times, she would just silently stay beside Kael, observing everything and everyone.


    But with her Space Lionheart, she seemed to have become even more reclusive and antisocial. She reminded Kael of his past self, the only thing different was her willingness to rain violence on anything.


    Zabita had always been dull-looking and edgy. The more she talked, the more she seemed similar to those goth girls he saw on the internet. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ruda was the most expressive of the lot, crazy, he might even say. Right from birth, she had always been very playful and a noise-maker


    Now she just seemed like those types that didn¡¯t know how to differentiate between fun and seriousness. Very talkative and hyperactive.


    Nalii didn¡¯t expose much of herself yet. The only thing Kael had learned of this mother of his was that she was overly caring, to a fault. Kael was sure that this was definitely a side effect of having the Veggie Lionheart because Nalii was definitely not as caring as she was now.


    But either way, Kael was satisfied that they were all here with him. Although the feelings he had for them were not as deep as they had for him, he was fine with that.


    He had only been a lion for three-plus years while he had been a human for close to four decades. It would be hard for him to ever develop any romantic relationship with them as they were now, respectfully speaking.


    Perhaps, if he spent more time as a lion, his psychology would change over time. Kael was sure that the longer he remained a lion, the more a piece of his humanity was being washed away, and not in a bad way.


    It felt like this was what was meant to happen, for him to embrace lionhood in all its essence.


    However, for now, this situation made Kael eager for the moment he would be able to transform into a human.


    He had seen Bethel transform into a humanoid form along with some other lionesses in one of his memories. The seventh Primordial Lion in the memory space was also strangely in the form of a human woman.


    This was evidence that having a human body once again wasn¡¯t impossible, he just didn¡¯t know how.


    ¡¯Some of the Primordial Lions should easily been able to have a humanoid form, even Bethel. Yet the seventh is the only one who is shown in a humanoid form. Did they all prefer their lion forms?¡¯ Kael thought.


    For a former ordinary human, he couldn¡¯t yet grasp fully how some of these things were supposed to work so he shook his head to remove the thoughts. What he didn¡¯t understand now would be made clear in the future.


    As the group of nine continued walking while discussing, their journey was interrupted by a distant roar.


    Kael didn¡¯t stop walking, same as the rest, but they listened attentively, paying attention to the direction the roar was coming from.


    This was a lion¡¯s roar, it couldn¡¯t be mistaken, and it seemed like the type used to ward off annoying entities. This roar came and went swiftly, not lasting more than three seconds.


    Katari didn¡¯t say anything, she just picked up pace to walk in front of the whole pride. No, she wasn¡¯t protesting the pride, she was protecting Kael who stood in front of the pride.


    An invisible force that only Kael and Katari could feel silently spread from her body as her eyes turned pitch black.


    Then, Katari turned her head slightly to the left and kept walking. Kael followed, not bothering to try the same thing she had done.


    A few minutes later they encountered a stunning scene. A small pride of lions was currently feasting on a dead wildebeest.


    This pride only had six lionesses and one male. The pride seemed newly established as the pride leader looked relatively young even though he had a full mane. He looked at most older than Kael by a year.


    The lionesses were also relatively young compared to the Hot Lion pride, with the oldest seemingly the same age as the pride leader.


    As soon as the Ol-mytee Pride caught sight of them, the light around Katari twisted as she disappeared from sight.


    As soon as the remaining eight made themselves known, the other pride noticed immediately.


    The pride leader of this pride immediately got defensive, seeing the nine strange lionesses.


    He was stunned stupid when he saw these lionesses standing with that golden lion. These were the most beautiful lionesses he had ever seen in his life.


    Compared to them, the lionesses beside him looked way too ugly. He was so stunned that he forgot to roar to deter Kael, he didn¡¯t even see Kael any longer.


    Instead, the one that roared was the lioness beside him. She roared not because she wanted to but because she was defending their food.


    The other four lionesses growled at the Ol-mytee but their growls were unstable and filled with uncertainty.


    Their gaze was mostly on Kael¡¯s golden form. One even had drool falling from her mouth.


    The stances of the seven visible lionesses intimidated this young pride to the point that they were confused and their instincts seemed to have gone off.


    The aura being emitted from Kael alone was very mysterious, and attractive yet threatening to them.


    Kael ignored their gaze and continued going forward. When he got closer, the young pride leader eventually noticed him.


    He immediately began growling as he came back to his senses. The dead wildebeest behind him made him even more aggressive.


    Kael waited for some time, observing them and the dead beast. It didn¡¯t look like he had any intention of attacking them, making the young pride settle down but they didn¡¯t let their guard down either.


    It seemed like a stalemate where one was afraid of fighting the other. Obviously, the one that was scared was the young pride leader. Now that Kael stood in front of him, he could see just how big he was.


    For a lion that hadn¡¯t yet grown his mane, Kael was going shoulder to shoulder with a lion that had his mane fully out.


    After a few minutes, Kael looked around and then began walking away. He didn¡¯t touch the dead wildebeest, neither did the Ol-mytee lionesses.


    The young pride was confused, this mysterious pride just showed up, and looked at them for some time before disappearing.


    They looked at the eight figures as they created more distance between them. Then they saw something that made their eyes grow wide.


    Another figure, a lioness suddenly appeared out of thin air and joined the group.


    Kael looked at the blood that stained Katari¡¯s mouth in satisfaction. The smell that came from the blood was that of a lion cub.


    Confirming the smell of the blood, Kael nodded his head before they picked up pace, quickly leaving the sight of the young pride.

 Chapter 37: Corruption

    Soon the sorrowful roars of multiple lionesses filled the surrounding kilometers. The sound waves were loud and bounced from one corner to the other.


    Meanwhile, Kael and his lionesses calmly drank water from the river while listening to the sorrowful roars. Katari washed the blood off her snout by dipping her entire head into the water.


    As Kael listened to the roars, a cold and ruthless glint flashed through his eyes.


    The more he grew and the more he absorbed the memories, the more his mindset changed. The Kael of now was very different from the one that reincarnated on day one.


    ¡¯So this is what it is like to lack accountability?¡¯ He asked himself. He was the Primordial Lion, Kael was very clear on this.


    Each and every Primordial lion played a role in the advancement and propagation of the lion race across the cosmos.


    However, despite how powerful they had become, they still died one way or the other.


    Kael might seem unceremoniously fearless but he still feared something despite the confidence he had in his abilities. He still feared death.


    As someone who was given a second chance at life, he knew how valuable it was. His primary objective has always remained to survive, secondary objective would be to rule over the lions.


    The first objective was natural yet unnatural. Unnatural in a way that Kael was finding that he was very willing to do anything to ensure his very own survival. It was selfish, he would never deny it, but who wasn¡¯t?


    People in his past life disguised their selfishness differently. If they didn¡¯t point fingers at someone to show their moral superiority, they would shrink into depression, not understanding why their inner self was so against societal norms.


    They constructed morality to ensure that the human community flourished but it came as a trade-off for knowing oneself.


    With the way, people were so desperate to seek public approval for things they would never like, said it all. As long as society shunned selfishness, it would be looked down upon and labeled immoral.


    However, this was like going against the very thing that made an intelligent being¡­intelligent.


    Kael could not for one afford to act like there was a god above somewhere judging him based on morality, neither could he care less.


    His desire to survive fused with his duty to rule over the lions. As a Primordial Lion, Kael realized it wasn¡¯t merely about being special, it was a duty he could take if he wanted to or ignore if he didn¡¯t.


    But if he ignored this duty, what would he have made of his second chance at life? What would have been the point of his reincarnation? Seeking a sense of purpose, Kael had picked up this ¡¯duty¡¯ to rule over the lions.


    Kael could be said to be deluding himself, but at least, it kept him going. If not he would have no problem being a subordinate to his father.


    The funny thing was that Kael didn¡¯t ask Katari to kill those lion cubs because he was afraid they would threaten them. Rather he did it just because he wanted to know what it¡¯s like to have that kind of power for once in his life.


    He was not paranoid, he wasn¡¯t a bad person, he was just thinking of his survival and potential obstacles to him fulfilling his proclaimed duty.


    He would kill the whole pride if he could but that would be a waste of energy and there was no guarantee that none of the Ol-mytee Pride members would not be injured.


    This was simply an exercise, Kael was simply exercising his metaphorical muscle called power.


    ¡¯I can order the assassination of cubs, just because I feel like, and face no consequences,¡¯ This was simply a way for Kael to feel this new power of not having to do anything to be able to do everything.


    Kael¡¯s mind almost collapsed into a dark abyss just by thinking of this. His heart was almost corrupted by the power.


    Though, Kael wasn¡¯t making any effort to stop this corruption. The tinge of guilt that was at the back of his mind remained, but it was slowly being washed away.


    If not for the Primordial memories, Kael would have never thought of being needlessly ruthless in his life.


    When Kael raised his head from drinking water, something about him seemed different.


    His gaze was colder and more machiavellian. His head was raised up high, filled with confidence and a regal presence.


    His aura now was akin to a ruler, a king. A casual exercise of power had begun to gradually change Kael. For better or worse would only be known in the future.


    Kael was not the only one who was changing though. Katari was also changing, hers was just way more minuscule and unnoticeable.


    The only noticeable thing was that her eyes didn¡¯t immediately revert back to normal, they remained pitch black, looking more and more like an empty void, like cute miniature black holes.


    Even when she wasn¡¯t using any powers, they only reverted back to normal after she was beside Kael again.


    ¡¯It¡¯s pointless to use power in such an unnecessary way,¡¯ Kael silently judged himself, ¡¯But it felt good,¡¯ a dark smirk appeared on his face.


    ¡¯No, I¡¯m goal-oriented, there are other things¡­¡¯ He continued while he absent-mindedly led them to continue their journey.


    ¡¯Speaking of duty, there has to be a way for me to make lions pledge allegiance to me without actually adding them to my pride. The Primordial laws¡­


    I should have tested it on that young pride¡­ but they probably wouldn¡¯t welcome us back with open arms.


    But Katari might have killed all the cubs, there¡¯s no bargaining chip, I didn¡¯t even ask¡­¡¯


    "Katari, did you kill all the cubs?" He asked as he looked back at Katari.


    "No, I saw ten cubs and I killed five," She shook her head as she answered. Her understanding of numerical data was in its most basic form but she could put things together with it.


    "Oh," Kael nodded, ¡¯It could work, wait, it would definitely work.


    As long as I do it like this¡­ yeah.¡¯


    "Fuck it, let¡¯s go!," Kael immediately announced as he turned and started running back to the roars of the young pride.


    The eight lionesses were confused, wondering what was causing Kael to act like this. Still, they followed.


    Katari practically panicked, seeing Kael so far away from the protection of the pride members. She was so panicked that as she was running, the build-up of power worked with her desire and before she knew it, she was running next to Kael.


    Katari was stunned, Kael had already covered a significant distance within that short time and it would take some time to catch up to him, yet here she was, somehow appearing from one place to another.


    Ruda shortly joined them, running incredibly fast with electric arcs swimming all over her body and leaving a purple trail behind her. She didn¡¯t know what was happening but the craziness in her eyes couldn¡¯t be hidden, she was ready for anything.


    The others were still behind with Diane slowly catching up.


    Eventually, Kael arrived at a den, it was simply a tall tree with a lot of bushes around it, and the ground was dug out, creating some space underneath the bushes.


    Kael didn¡¯t wait one second before releasing a mighty roar that shook the branches of the trees. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Compared to the sorrowful roars of before, Kael¡¯s roar was clearly louder and more oppressive.


    The sound of his roar immediately attracted the six lionesses that had made it back to the den, as well as the young pride leader who was already running over furiously.


    Although they never saw them do anything, in their eyes, Kael was the one responsible for the death of their cubs.


    With growls and their ferocious teeth bared, they all pounced at Kael one after the other. The rage in their eyes was as readable as the skies.


    Kael slapped the head of one of the lionesses, sending her rolling on the floor. Before the next lioness could make an attack, she was tackled to the ground by an invisible entity.


    And the third was mixed up with Ruda who was clawing madly at the lioness.


    The remaining four lionesses were taken aback by this, their comrades were being beaten up so easily by these foreign lions.


    The pride leader rushed at Kael with all his might, intending to fight ferociously with this golden guy who dared to kill his cubs.


    Before he could reach Kael however, he was sent flying as a large lioness slammed into his body from the side.


    As he landed, out of breath, he could feel some of his ribs broken. He tried to get up but the large lioness put her heavy paws on his maned head. She applied pressure, making it hard for him to even lift his head up.


    The other three lionesses wanted to run back into the den but were also tackled by the Ol-mytee Pride members.


    Brown vines slithered out of the ground to grab onto the ankles of one of the lionesses.


    Zabita and Eidel took care of the remaining two. Kael had to remind them telepathically that he did not want anyone dead.


    None of the Ol-mytee lionesses were told to attack anyone, they just began attacking the moment they saw Kael slap one of the lionesses.


    Kael looked around at his work, all the members of this young pride were being held down in one way or the other. ¡¯Seems I underestimated us,¡¯


    The lioness that Kael slapped was about to groggily get up from the ground but the chubby lioness sitting on top of her just made her not able to move an inch.


    The most damaged was the lioness that was attacked by Ruda. Kael wasn¡¯t even sure if she was still alive.


    "Priya, create a channel with them," Kael said to Priya who at this moment was observing everyone. She nodded her head as an invisible ripple-like strand extended from her to the seven young pride members.


    "Good day, my kinsmen." Kael began, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he made his way to the cubs under the bushes.

 Chapter 38: The Primordial Record

    Kael crawled under the bushes, his back touching the dry branches. He saw the bloody scene Katari had left behind.


    The corpses of five cubs were strewn across the place in the most violent way. One even looked like it had been bitten in half.


    Among the dead cubs, were five live cubs. These cubs were huddled together in one corner, shaking from fear.


    These cubs looked like they were only a few weeks old and all of them were females. Katari had made sure that every male was among the dead ones.


    Seeing these cubs, Kael was reminded that he too was once like this. There had even been a time when he heard the roars of a foreign lion as a cub.


    Thankfully, he had a very powerful father who deterred the opposition. If not, he would probably have experienced the same thing these cubs were experiencing.


    "Unfortunately for you guys, your father is too weak to protect you," Kael spoke as he picked one of the cubs with his mouth gently, careful not to injure the cub with his teeth.


    An outsider would think he hadn¡¯t just ordered the assassination of their siblings a few moments ago just so he could feel what it¡¯s like to have such power.


    The lionesses outside watched as Kael went in and out of the den to bring the five cubs out.


    He placed them all in a position that made them visible to all the members of the young pride.


    Then finally, he went in one more time and came back out with the dead body of one of the cubs, a male one.


    He dropped the corpse next to the five live cubs, painting a disturbing scene. Kael didn¡¯t know about the rest but he was actually disturbed by it.


    Yet he was the one who thought of it in the first place. Kael didn¡¯t fail to pay close attention to the changes his mind was slowly undergoing, making him different from the human he was.


    "Let me make it clear," Kael said as he used his paws to draw one of the cubs closer to him while he sat down.


    "I do not want to hurt you more than I already have." He stated.


    The young pride members were bewildered by the voice in their heads. They knew the voice was coming from the young golden lion in the center so they paid attention to him. They had to, after all, this golden guy was dangerously close to their cubs.


    Kael looked at the pride leader who was struggling under Diane¡¯s paw to get up. He bared his teeth at Kael, not willing to calm down at all.


    "What I want from you all is simple, give it to me and I¡¯ll leave you alone," He was bland. He actually was thinking of coming up soft with them but he remembered he was dealing with lions.


    He closed his eyes for some moment to think of the rough plan he had just come up with. The next time he opened his eyes, they glowed a bright gold.


    The Primordial laws were summoned, forming golden strings that sipped out of the void and into Kael.


    Rectangular golden screens appeared in front of the members of the young pride. These were not contracts but something else, something more simple.


    "Pardon me, I¡¯m still learning this thing, I just came up with this¡­" Kael paused, letting a light chuckle escape into their minds.


    The young pride members couldn¡¯t understand his humor though.


    "What you are all seeing in front of you is the Primordial Record, I just came up with the name. Adding your identity to the record automatically makes you part of my kingdom.


    Of course, nothing comes for free, joining means you are under my Primordial laws and would have your energy synchronized with me, your king."


    As Kael said this, he looked closely at the pride leader, waiting for his reaction. As expected, he was not taking this well.


    Not only had these foreign lions invaded his territory, but they had killed his cubs without any reason at all. Now, their leader was offering what looked like a way to join his kingdom, basically asking him to be subservient.


    The pride leader was so mad he forgot that Diane¡¯s paw was still over his head. He disregarded the golden screen in front of him, thrashing around and sending claw attacks at Diane.


    Diane frowned, this stupid pride leader was annoying her. She applied slightly more pressure, causing a loud and clear cracking sound to resound out.


    Her long claws began digging into his forehead, drawing blood and making the red liquid flow down the corner of his eyes.


    The young pride leader felt like his skull was being crushed by the heaviest thing ever. The pressure was so bad that he could no longer open his mouth without injuring himself in the process.


    The young lionesses watching their pride leader suffer like this gave them mixed feelings. They felt disappointed that their pride leader, the father of their cubs, was so weak that he couldn¡¯t protect them from these threats, yet at the same time, they were vexed that anyone would dare to touch their pride leader like this in front of them.


    Katari slowly glanced at them, she didn¡¯t even hide the disdain in her eyes.


    Kael shook his head at the pride leader, "You could fight all you want, you¡¯d just end up killing yourself and everyone else here.


    There is no way for you to win. We outmatch you both in quality and quantity. Instead, you should lead by example.


    Once you add yourself to the Primordial Record, the rest will follow." Kael said plainly.


    The eyes of the pride leader lingered on the golden screen before moving to Kael. He was scared, but his ego made it hard for him to make a decision.


    Kael frowned at this, he didn¡¯t want to spend time here. Without any warning, his paw rose and fell swiftly, like a golden blur.


    Everybody apart from Katari had their eyes wide open. Beneath Kael¡¯s fallen paw was the cub who he had kept beside him.


    A sickening crunch entered the ears of everyone nearby. The cub didn¡¯t even know how it died, it happened too fast. One moment, it was shaking from fear in the presence of this golden lion, the next thing its body was being crushed under the immense power of his paw.


    A sorrowful roar filled the area. The lioness Katari was holding down struggled frantically with craze in her eyes, the cub that had just been crushed to death was hers.


    Even the members of the Ol-mytee Pride were shocked, they never knew up till now that Kael had ordered Katari to kill five of these cubs already, so this action surprised them.


    "The more you waste my time, the more death I will dish out. It¡¯s your choice, I¡­" Kael hesitated to say the last part.


    "I¡­honestly don¡¯t mind killing you all one by one," He said.


    "Really?" Nalii thought to herself, confusion running through her mind.


    "What¡¯s wrong with Kael?" Olivia asked Priya privately while maintaining her position on top of the miserable lionesses beneath her.


    From the sound of her telepathic voice, Priya could tell that Olivia was genuinely worried. "I don¡¯t know." She answered, short and simple because it was the truth. She really didn¡¯t know why Kael was acting like this.


    The young pride leader, seeing the dead body of his cub, was flabbergasted. And to prove he wasn¡¯t in the mood for jokes, Kael placed his large paw on the next cub beside him.


    The cubs couldn¡¯t even run away when there was a long golden tail that circled around them and kept them close.


    "Sign the record." He commanded.


    The sight of his dead cub added to the increasing pressure on his head, made the young pride leader not take an extra second.


    "I¡­I accept," His first telepathic words were rusty.


    With a flash of black light, the golden screen in front of him had strange black characters added to it. These characters didn¡¯t spell the name of the young pride leader as he didn¡¯t have a name.


    Kael didn¡¯t know what that was either but he was glad the Primordial laws worked automatically in such situations like this. He didn¡¯t want to have to be giving names everywhere he went.


    ¡¯I¡¯ll check more on this in the future,¡¯ He decided to himself.


    "Well that¡¯s very good of you," He said before turning to the young lionesses.


    After seeing the pride leader sign the record and accept his fate, another lioness immediately signed it as well. Kael currently had his paws on her cub and she didn¡¯t want to find out what would happen if she didn¡¯t.


    One by one, they signed it, even the lioness that just had her cub killed, although begrudgingly. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let him go," Kael said calmly to Diane who lifted her paws from the pitiable lion¡¯s head.


    As soon as he could, he ran away but didn¡¯t go far before stopping. He looked at the group warily, he was scared but he was still worried about his lionesses and the cubs.


    "Let them all go," Kael spoke to his pride members while he walked away. As soon as they were free, the mothers grabbed their cubs and ran towards their pride leader. Only then did the pride leader breathe with relief.


    ¡¯Will this happen to me if I don¡¯t get stronger?¡¯ Kael wondered as he looked at their distant figures with a melancholic gaze. That gaze was soon replaced with indifference.


    "Let¡¯s go,"

 Chapter 39: Change Of Mind

    A few days later.


    Nine members of the Ol-mytee Pride walked through the vast plains in a single-line formation, drawing closer to their desired destination.


    Katari walked at the front, her vigilant eyes flashing from one place to another.


    Kael walked behind her, his eyes on the golden screen floating in front of him.


    He looked at the six Identity characters with heavy scrutiny m, noticing how they all looked alike yet different. He was also able to mysteriously understand what these characters were.


    These characters were like a signature of some kind unique to each lion and lioness. Kael could feel that these signatures served as an identity mark on his Primordial record. For what this Primordial mark was used for he didn¡¯t have any idea yet.


    There was even a special character in front of the young lion¡¯s identity mark that seemed to serve as proof of him being a pride leader.


    What Kael did know was that, unlike the Primordial contracts, this Primordial record could be manipulated and changed.


    He guessed that these changes could affect all those who had their identity marks on the record.


    The Primordial record that Kael had access to was very different from what the other lions could see and was divided into two spaces, on one side was the list of identity marks.


    On the other space was nothing but an empty blank area, like an empty notepad.


    Kael tried writing many things on it with his mind, and strange alphabets were put on it automatically. Nothing happened though.


    Kael continued tinkering with the Primordial Record, making sure not to bump into Katari who was in front of him.


    ¡¯Do they see what I¡¯m writing?¡¯ Kael then wondered, this blank notepad-like space wasn¡¯t there for nothing. The fact that the Primordial laws automatically made this blank space appear on his own meant that it had a purpose.


    He felt that he could remove it even if he wanted to and leave just the list of identity marks.


    ¡¯Hmm¡¯ Kael thought of something then he wrote with his mind, [Kill a gazelle, Reward: 1 stone] appeared on the blank space.


    He looked at it carefully, the format in which he wrote this reminded him of a certain feature of Internet messages from his past life.


    Having time to exercise his control over the Primordial record, he continued making changes.


    By the time the day ended, Kael had discovered how to separate different marks and group them. He grouped the six Identity marks under one group that represented their pride.


    The words he wrote on the other space remained there as he didn¡¯t know what to do with it for now so he just left it there. He had a feeling that the young pride members could see it but he wasn¡¯t sure.


    This was why he put a reward, although he doubted if anyone would like a stone as a reward for anything. He could just wait.


    "NOEL!" a loud shout echoed from the side.


    Kael turned to his right to see who was calling him. He blankly stared into the distance, confused.


    He shook his head, assuming that he was probably hallucinating.


    "NOEL!" S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There it was again, Kael turned to look at where the voice was coming from.


    "Huh?" It was only now that he realized that he had weirdly tried to answer the name, Noel, like that was him.


    "There¡¯s something wrong," He immediately said to all of the lionesses around him as he stopped walking. His brows were furrowed as he looked at all of them one after the other.


    Katari turned around immediately to check on Kael. Seeing him looking around with a troubled expression instantly got her on alert, she also began looking around for any possible threats.


    Olivia walked slowly over to Kael, "Kael, what¡¯s wrong?" She asked worriedly. Kael didn¡¯t answer, seeming to not have heard what she said.


    His golden irises darted around inside his eye sockets frantically. They were unfocused, as though he was looking at what was not really in front of him.


    "NOEL!" The voice came again.


    Kael¡¯s aura suddenly changed, becoming more regal and authoritative. His gaze landed on Olivia causing her to shiver. It felt like she was staring at a whole different person.


    Katari and Nalii finally noticed that whatever was wrong was coming from Kael.


    "You!" Kael said in a low whisper, this time using his mouth. He talked as if he had been using his mouth to talk for a long time.


    "I never expected my cousins to betray me," His voice was calm and collected. The way Kael looked at Olivia reminded her of the way he looked at the young pride members.


    Kael himself had long lost his sense of self, he couldn¡¯t see Olivia. Instead, what he saw was a tiger, a really big one, in her place.


    This tiger had blazing red fur with ink-black stripes all over its body. It towered over Kael by a head and its long tail that was like a fiery worm swished from left to right.


    "You don¡¯t listen do you Noel?" The tiger opened its mouth to ask in a deep manly voice. Kael could ¡¯smell¡¯ the stench of sulfur coming from the tiger¡¯s mouth.


    "We would have loved to join you on this campaign of yours but we have our own Primordial now. It doesn¡¯t mean the bridge between us has to be broken."


    As the tiger spoke, he majestically walked to the side and Kael¡¯s head followed his movement. Eventually, the tiger stopped until his figure overlapped with Diane.


    Diane felt uncomfortable with the way Kael was looking at her. The killing intent oozing off of him was very noticeable which made her deeply worried.


    "Kael?" Nalii called out, seeing as the muscles on Kael¡¯s limbs were getting tensed up.


    Priya shook her head, "I don¡¯t know why but Kael¡¯s mind is chaotic, he can¡¯t see or hear us right now."


    "Can¡¯t you do something?" Eidel asked with a frown. She was less worried about Kael and more worried about her and the other lionesses.


    "I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll try," Priya said before closing her eyes. A silent ripple spread from her head to Kael¡¯s but nothing happened.


    "I would like to congratulate you then on the birth of your race¡¯s Primordial. But that¡¯s not an excuse for turning your back on us without any prior warning.


    Do you know how many lions died because you didn¡¯t open this heaven¡¯s gate when you should have? After everything we did for you."


    Saying this, Kael¡¯s body began swelling as he instinctively activated the power of the Warrior Lionheart.


    His golden claws grew longer and thicker as they dug into the ground. His muscles pumped and his tail became extremely long. Two golden fangs grew out of his upper jaw, jagged and shiny.


    The sparse dark mane on his back that was still in the form of a long mohawk stood on end like sharp needles.


    "Priya¡­" Ruda called out as she felt the electric energy within Kael building up at a rapid pace.


    Priya didn¡¯t answer, she still had her eyes closed as she tried harder to get into Kael¡¯s mind.


    Katari stared at this with puzzlement drenching her mind. On one hand, there was Kael, the one who she would support with her life. On the other hand, was her fellow pride members who she shared Kael with.


    Her loyalty to Kael was unquestionable and obviously higher than any other lioness here, growing up with a Kael who was tolerant of her clinginess could do this.


    The level of attachment she had for Kael was enough that she didn¡¯t mind killing a few cubs as soon as he ordered it.


    However, she still cared about her fellow pride members, even if it was at a surface level. They helped take care of Kael after all.


    She didn¡¯t like the idea of Kael and them fighting for any reason, and neither did she think it would ever happen.


    "Diane," She finally spoke, looking at the one Kael had his full attention on, "Defend yourself!"


    As soon as her words ended, Kael pounced a Diane. Luckily she had already transformed into her War State before Katari had cautioned her.


    *BAM*


    As their two large bodies collided, a dull sound, like two extremely hard objects hit themselves with too much force, echoed out.


    In Kael¡¯s eyes, their collision split the land in two as he sent the tiger flying for kilometers.


    His limbs released their power as his body was launched toward the direction the tiger was sent flying with incredible force. The launch left behind a shockwave and a large crater on the ground.


    Meanwhile, in real life, Diane found herself being overpowered by Kael.


    Kael wasn¡¯t just using pure strength, his limbs were overflowing with electricity, making each move he made supercharged.


    She tumbled to the ground, only for Kael to bite onto her tail without waiting for her to react.


    Kael heaved, his neck muscles strained as he swung Diane¡¯s large body around. Like a golden tornado blur, Diane was flung to the side until she hit a tree and stopped.


    A lot had happened within a short time that the others didn¡¯t even know how to react on time.


    Kael was about to chase after Diane when a purple blur sped past his face. The painful sensation on his cheek seemed to enrage and confuse him at the same time.


    He raised his paw to touch his cheek. The blood he saw made him stunned because what was happening in his head didn¡¯t match what was happening in real life.


    To him, he was going toe-to-toe with this blazing tiger then there was suddenly a scratch on his face. Since when was it so easy to scratch Noel on his face?


    Suddenly, Kael disappeared from his spot, causing Ruda to miss her target.


    Kael appeared like a ghost beside Eidel, stunning her.


    "I could feel your heat from so far away, did you think you could escape my punishment?" Kael said as orange flames burst out of his body.


    From his perspective, he was looking down at a crater with swirling lava. At the center of the pool of lava was the blazing tiger with multiple scratch marks on his body.


    Two large golden wings burst out of Noels back as he flew into the air. He opened his mouth and a condensed beam of blue fire shot out into the crater.


    Eidel was blasted away, she couldn¡¯t fight fire with fire the way Kael intended. Fortunately for her, she was covered in the same fire and was only hurt from crashing on the ground.


    "His mind is shifting too fast, it¡¯s as if his mind hasn¡¯t been stable for a long time!" Priya said telepathically as she felt a headache coming on. "It¡¯s almost like¡­ it¡¯s like¡­he¡¯s becoming someone else!"


    Katari and Nalii nodded to themselves as they rushed after Kael.

 Chapter 40: Tier 2

    "I¡¯ve never in my life felt so hurt before," Noel stated as he looked up at the dying figure of the blazing tiger.


    At some point, two curved horns had grown out of the two sides of his head, giving off a green glow.


    Currently, a mass of vines had sprouted out from the ground in a spiral form upward. At the end of the vines was the blazing tiger, struggling to breathe.


    Vines tightened around his neck and body, squeezing the life out of him, literally.


    "You of all people know that I must eliminate anything that is considered an obstacle, whether that thing is a friend or foe.


    Did you really think your relationship with me would exempt you from the results? If so, then you thought wrong."


    Noel¡¯s gaze was cold, it would be hard to imagine that he was looking at a friend with these same pair of eyes.


    "KAEL!"


    A female voice rang out across the shattered plains, earning a puzzled gaze from Noel.


    That name sounded familiar to him, he just couldn¡¯t put his ¡¯finger¡¯ on where he had heard it from.


    A shadowy figure slowly blurred into existence a few meters away from him.


    "How did a tier 2 lioness come here?" Noel asked out loud. As the shadowy figure became clearer, he was able to instantly identify something about her.


    She was a bit on the small side when compared to other lionesses who had awakened their lionheart, but she seemed to still be in her growing phase.


    "Kael, it¡¯s me!" A familiar voice entered Noel¡¯s head. The lioness didn¡¯t open her mouth to talk, rather, her words came in the form of soul frequencies.


    Noel naturally understood everything she said, "Kael?" He frowned harder, he could feel a headache coming up.


    "Kael, please stop, you¡¯re hurting Katari," The lionesses said quickly, sounding like she was on the verge of crying.


    "Katari?" Only now did Noel¡¯s head clear up a bit. He looked at the blazing tiger he was trying to kill, only for him to see that his position was being overlapped by another figure.


    Slowly, like a video glitch, the scene changed over and over again. He could see that he was holding Katari up in the air with his vines, and she was dying.


    "What is this?" Noel asked himself, his voice shaking as he felt his sense of self slipping away.


    "What is happening?" He asked again as the scene before his eyes continued glitching. He felt like he was waking up from a divine hangover, nothing was making sense.


    He could see the reality he had known for so long fade away in front of him, being replaced by something else.


    "Who am I?" He asked in a low shout. He had forgotten about the tiger completely, busy trying to grasp onto the broken pieces of his mind.


    "You are Kael?" Priya said as she got closer to him. Seeing the vines wither away and Katari drop to the ground, she felt relieved.


    Only now did Kael notice the things that had been holding his body down. Green vines had fastened themselves around his limbs and Diane along with Olivia were on his back.


    Olivia seemed to be crying badly as tear marks had formed under her eyes. Diane just seemed to be trying to do her best to hold Kael down.


    Despite all this, Kael had remained standing like it was nothing. But not for long.


    Now that he was conscious of what he was doing again, the stress hit him like a freight train. He had used his powers beyond his limits.


    His limbs gave way as he collapsed to the ground, "Who am I?" He kept asking himself.


    Priya came closer to him until her nose was touching his nose. A small grey glimmer flashed before sipping into Kael¡¯s mind.


    Kael¡¯s eyelids slowly came over as he became drowsy. He fought to stay awake but he didn¡¯t know why he even wanted to stay awake.


    Alas, he was tired, there was no atom of energy left to allow him to remain awake, and he couldn¡¯t resist. He closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.


    "His mind is strong, but not impenetrable. Hopefully, he¡¯ll be stable once he wakes up." Priya said as she looked at the peaceful face of Kael.


    Katari walked over with a limp, her fur was scattered and shabby, but she seemed fine mostly. "And what if he¡¯s not?" She asked.


    Her question sank the entire group into a period of silence, "We¡¯ll be prepared," Diane said as she sprawled her body on the ground, exhausted.


    Olivia hugged Kael¡¯s neck with her chubby front paws, not willing to let go.


    Katari sighed as she sat down not too far away from Kael, her eyes trained on his calm face.


    "What caused him to behave like that?" Zabita asked. She had not bothered attacking Kael mostly because she was afraid of hurting him. His skin might be tough but it was questionable whether her metal claws would not seriously injure him. Kael got his own incredibly sharp claws from her after all.


    "I¡¯m not entirely sure," Priya shook her head, "He seemed lost for a moment, he was lost and didn¡¯t know who he was for that period of time. It was almost as if he was reliving a past memory."


    Priya¡¯s observation confused the lot but they acted like they understood her. One after the other, they lay down next to Kael or near him.


    Neither of them seemed particularly upset about what had happened, just confused and wary. Each of them had different thoughts about what happened.


    #######


    A few hours later.


    Kael woke up to find something heavy resting on his neck. He turned his head to look at Olivia¡¯s face right next to his.


    Her puffy and fluffy cheeks were right by his side. He could feel half of her weight on his back but he didn¡¯t move.


    His eyes moved around, observing the sleeping lionesses around him. He remembered everything that happened, the memories came like water from a broken dam.


    ¡¯Why would something like this happen?¡¯ He wondered. It felt so unreal that he would lose his sense of self and identity all of a sudden. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡¯Noel is the one whose memories I usually sleep on. Could it be that my memories are overlapping with his?¡¯


    After some logical reasoning, he understood why what happened had happened in the first place.


    Kael was only three years old with an added month as a lion. As a human, he was in his forties.


    But his age as a human and a lion combined was not up to Noel¡¯s age before he died, it wasn¡¯t even up to a quarter.


    Kael casually browsed through Noel¡¯s vast amount of memories because of their mundane moments when he was asleep. The amount of memories he had gone through was worth more than a hundred years. Even if he couldn¡¯t recall everything in detail, it was still so.


    It was inevitable that he would at some point start behaving more like Noel and less like himself. Eventually, his memories would overlap with Noel¡¯s memories, making him think he was Noel.


    ¡¯I will have to hold up on brushing through those memories for some time. Or better still, hold off from Noel¡¯s memories.¡¯ He thought to himself.


    He reminisced about that period of time he thought he was Noel, he truly was seeing the world from another perspective.


    He remembered just before he was out to sleep, Priya had appeared and he addressed her as ¡¯a tier 2 lioness¡¯.


    Kael naturally knew what this meant. The lion race had a power scaling system unique to them. He didn¡¯t know what tier Noel had reached but he knew it was very high and also not at the peak.


    The Highest Will said that Alan and Noel had been the strongest Lions ever, with Alan almost reaching the level of the Highest Will. That particular level of power was never specified.


    What Kael knew however was that he and the Ol-mytee lionesses were currently at tier 2 and they weren¡¯t even at the peak of tier 2.


    Only after going through another evolution like they had after awakening their lionheart would they evolve into a tier 3 lion.


    ¡¯There is a path to power, all that¡¯s left is for us to follow it,¡¯


    Kael suddenly stood up, causing Olivia to roll to the ground. The sudden movement alerted all the lionesses as they looked at Kael warily.


    "Kael?" Katari spoke into the telepathic channel.


    "It¡¯s me," Kael said, he looked at all of them with a sorry gaze, "I¡¯m sorry about what happened," He said, even though he wasn¡¯t feeling sorry.


    As the leader of this small group, he had to learn how to apologize for his wrongs. Ego could get to his head and end up spoiling everything he was building. It was one of the things he learned from Noel.


    The eight lionesses had a look of relief on their face after they heard Kael¡¯s apology. For a second, they had been worried that Kael was becoming something that they wouldn¡¯t be comfortable living close to.


    Kael stayed there, conversing with the lionesses. Olivia was the most emotional of them all even though she had spent the least amount of time with him.


    Kael told them that he was merely suffering from an identity misplacement and assured them that it would probably never happen again. He had to emphasize the ¡¯probably¡¯ in his words as even he wasn¡¯t so sure about the future.


    As they conversed, the tension between them gradually melted away. The next thing Kael knew was them opening up about many things all over again.


    Their intelligence was still developing so it would be hard for them to react to anything that happened before like a normal person. Kael was thankful for this as it would allow him to build the image he wanted within their subconscious before their intelligence fully matured.


    Even Nalii and Priya, who should be making more mature moves, still talked like teenagers most of the time. They easily believed everything that came out of Kael¡¯s mouth, it was just for the time being.

 Chapter 41: Forest

    "Finally," Kael announced as they saw the foreign terrain ahead.


    It has been one month since the incident with Kael, but not forgotten.


    The Ol-mytee Pride had rushed ahead beside the river, intending to reach a destination they had never been to as soon as possible.


    An unknown number of animals fell for their hunger, leaving behind nothing but bones as evidence that a powerful pride had passed by.


    Across the past month, they had encountered two more lion prides. One of them was quite large and the pride leader had to be dealt with separately to ensure that the rest added their identity marks to the Primordial Record.


    The other pride was a small one like the first one that they met. None of the lions and lionesses that they met had awakened their lionhearts so it wasn¡¯t hard for the Ol-mytee Pride to overpower them.


    Now, the Primordial Record had more than twenty marks on it with three of those marks specifically belonging to pride leaders.


    Kael did not have any use for these identity marks apart from a means to know who had submitted to him. The words he left, [Kill a gazelle, Reward: 1 stone] were still there. He had confirmed that the lions with their identity marks on the Primordial Record could actually see this.


    He wondered what would happen if they actually killed a gazelle. This wasn¡¯t the migration season so it may take a while to see a single gazelle anywhere.


    But for now, he was more focused on the scene before him.


    He and the lionesses had entered a region that had a lot more vegetation than usual. There were more trees and some of the trees Kael had never seen before.


    The farther in they went, the more trees they saw until they found themselves inside a forest.


    Nalii took in deep breaths, feeling particularly comfortable in this environment.


    Zabita¡¯s eyes scanned the trees and her ears picked up every strange sound that she hadn¡¯t heard before.


    "The birds are abundant here," Zabita said as she sank her metal claws into soft soil. This environment didn¡¯t really soothe her psyche but she felt that she could bear it.


    The smell of something burning suddenly filled their noses. They turned to see Eidels flaming tail lighting up a nearby bush.


    She looked at the tongues of fire in amazement. The glow of the growing flame reflected in her beautiful eyes. She wanted to observe it some more but a golden paw descended to put out the fire hurriedly.


    "Don¡¯t do that again," Kael said sternly, the seriousness in his voice made Eidel sit up immediately. Kael knew that this was how forest fires started, who knew how many trees would be burned down before the flames finally died down?


    Kael didn¡¯t plan to find out as he felt that this forest could be of use to him. Eidel silently put out the flames at the end of her tail.


    "Let¡¯s follow the river," Kael said as he headed in the direction he could hear the sound of flowing water.


    The river bed here was different, it wasn¡¯t as murky as the one in the vast plains. He could see the stones at the bottom of the river.


    They followed the river, heading deeper into the forest region. Kael felt just as comfortable as he felt in the plains, he didn¡¯t feel any particular dislike or like for where he was now. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soon, they heard a small splash from the river. They all snapped their heads toward the source of the sound in a creepy manner.


    They were just in time to see a small fish leao out of the river against the current.


    Kael was surprised, he quickly walked over to the edge of the river with the lionesses behind.


    Unbeknownst to them, on a tall tree a few meters behind them, a neatly woven spider web encompassed the space between two branches.


    On this white silk spider web was a small spider, sitting there and calmly observing the nine strange creatures.


    Its eight black eyes reflected the figures of the lion and lionesses and the whole surroundings.


    There was something peculiar about those eyes. The way they stared at the group, it was filled with a certain level of intelligence that most spiders would never have.


    Meanwhile, Kael looked into the river to see multiple little fishes. Some were red and some were silver, all were swimming against the current, easily creating small waves every time they moved.


    ¡¯I¡¯ve not had fish since I reincarnated actually,¡¯ Kael thought as he licked his lips. These kinds of fish were not easy to see in the plains, usually, they would have been eaten to extinction by the crocodiles.


    "You guys must be hungry, let¡¯s catch some," Kael said to them telepathically as he stepped into the river one paw at a time.


    Everyone was curious about these little fishes, everyone but Katari. Ever since the incident with the crocodiles, she was very cautious when it came to entering any river. Once bitten twice shy.


    Kael¡¯s eyes darted left and right, looking for the right fish. Then suddenly, he plunged his head super fast into the water, stunning the lionesses with this action.


    When he removed his head from the water, it was wet with soaked golden fur hanging on edge and dripping water down. In his mouth was a slightly long silver salmon-like fish.


    The fish died as Kael¡¯s golden teeth pierced into its flesh and blood dripped down.


    The lionesses looked at this, stunned. Kael walked out of the river, he looked around until he saw a stone big and flat enough for what he wanted.


    He placed the fish on the slab of rock, eyeing it in amazement. This fish looked like a salmon, it was silver in color and had a streamlined body like a torpedo.


    "I want to try something, hunt more of these fishes," He said.


    "Fishes? Is that what these are called?" Olivia asked as she hurriedly entered the river to catch the fish like a fat bear.


    Steam rose into the sky as Eidel splashed water around while chasing after a fish. Soon the sound of water splashing resounded amongst the trees.


    By the time they were done, dozens of red and silver fishes were on the stone slab with some falling off of the slab. Kael counted roughly thirty-six.


    Small streaks of orange flames appeared on his golden fur, providing a sense of heat for the wet lionesses.


    Out from his nose came small streaks of flames that hit the fish. He would take a breath in and when he breathed out, flames would come out.


    These flames were mild but hot enough to slowly roast the fishes. The residual water and blood slowly evaporated, leaving a smoky and brown look behind.


    Soon, the smell of roasted fish spread out, encompassing the river, trees, and reaching the noses of unintended forest critters.


    Kael raised his head to appreciate his work. The formerly raw fish was replaced by a good-looking, crisp-skinned, golden-brown, fish.


    He couldn¡¯t remove the scales efficiently with his claws so he didn¡¯t bother about it. He used his claws to pierce into one of the fish. It easily went through the now brittle scales and into the hot insides.


    He cut the fish into two, allowing the smoke and the white flesh inside to be exposed to them.


    Olivia had drool forming at the edge of their mouth as they stared agape. Since when could something smell so delicious?


    "You can eat," Kael said, he knew that they were waiting for him to give them permission even if he didn¡¯t need to. As long as he stood beside the food, they wouldn¡¯t eat unless he told them to, it was something that they were used to.


    As soon as he permitted them, they dug into the pile of fish. Before Kael was done with eating one fish, Olivia and Diane had already gulped three.


    The fish was tasty, and although it felt a bit different on his lion tongue, it was delicious nonetheless.


    Although Kael had ignored it for a long time, he still missed spices. For lions and lionesses who had never had seasoned food in their life, raw food was the best.


    But Kael came from a life where humans had the tastiest food in excess. For now, he could only make do with what he had. Not to mention cooked food wasn¡¯t necessarily healthy for lions.


    In the blink of an eye, Kael and the eight lionesses had almost finished all the fish, but they weren¡¯t satisfied.


    Without waiting for Kael¡¯s request, Zabita, Ruda, and Eidel rushed back into the river.


    At this time, Kael¡¯s ears perked up as heard a snapping sound. He looked into the forest, vigilant.


    Not just him, Katari, Diane, Olivia, Priya, and Nalii heard the sound.


    Their noses twitched, picking up a foreign scent. Simultaneously, their heads pointed toward the same direction as their eyes locked onto a particular tree.


    *GROWL*


    Katari released a fearsome growl that reverberated across the area. The growl was such that even the trees began vibrating in tune with its threatening intent.


    An orange head poked out from behind the tree. Large eyes stared at the group with an innocence that Kael hadn¡¯t seen in a long time, but he didn¡¯t falter, because the creature that had poked its head out from behind the tree was a fox.


    There was nothing inherently innocent about a fox, especially one that was so big.


    Kael¡¯s eyes expressed his curiosity as he saw the fox eye the remaining pile of fish. However, that look turned cold when the fox stepped out of its hiding place and revealed its full body.


    Indeed there was nothing ordinary about this fox. Its bright orange-red fur was very eye-catching, and its two large white-tipped ears pointed to the sky.


    What was very interesting about this about this fox was the two orange, fluffy tails swishing around behind it. The tails swept about in a mesmerizing manner.


    Kael knew this was another creature that had awakened its species-specific power, its Foxheart.

 Chapter 42: Foxy

    The fox stepped out of its hiding spot, the lack of fear for these creatures that was more than six times its size was absent.


    Those big eyes narrowed down until they formed two fine slits, they settled on each member of the Ol-mytee Pride one after the other.


    Kael was on one paw, excited to see another creature that wasn¡¯t a lion with powers, on the other hand, he was wary. If the fox had an awakened heart, it meant that it had access to powers Kael didn¡¯t know of.


    So far, besides the Hot Lion pride leader, his father, he had never fought any other creature with an awakened heart.


    The more he stared at the fox, the more he was intrigued. He wondered if it could talk, what kind of powers did it have? Could he do experiments with it?


    But then Kael noticed that he was staring at this fox way too much. His mind churned as spirit energy washed over his consciousness.


    "Snap out of it!" Priya, who recovered first alerted them all as her spirit energy enveloped the whole group.


    "Hey, thief!" Ruda shouted from the river as she saw another red fox sneakily grab two fish in its mouth before running away as quickly as possible.


    All this happened right under their noses and they didn¡¯t notice until now.


    Kael looked down, confused, and then he looked up again to see that the other red fax had run away.


    He raised his eyebrows, not particularly angry in the slightest. His keen eyes trailed the distant shadows of the two foxes darting through the forest.


    After Ruda, Zabita, and Eidel caught more fish, Eidel was the one to roast them this time. She did well even though some of the fish got burnt and became uneatable.


    Kael looked around, trying to hold everything here to memory. After he was done, he said, "Let¡¯s go visit those thieves,"


    He could almost see the grin that formed on the corners of their mouth. "Mother, please can you lead the way?" He asked Nalii.


    Nalii nodded before taking the spot at the front of the group. Ever since she entered this forest, she had felt more and more comfortable.


    Her horn bumps had already become small horns and Kael could see that they were antlers. They were still small so these antlers were not easily recognizable.


    Nalii raised her head to the sky, her nose twitching as she took in deep breaths. Her eyes snapped open as she locked in on a single direction.


    Without saying anything she went after it, half running and half walking.


    As Kael looked at her from behind, he noticed how easy it was for Nalii to just blend in with the forest. She could just curl herself in one corner and someone far away with ordinary eyes would think that she¡¯s a bush. The more greenery in the area, the harder it was to notice her.


    When the Veggie Lionheart affected everything about her, including her genetics, it wasn¡¯t without purpose or direction.


    Kael and the other lionesses silently followed, also picking up the scent.


    About thirty minutes later, Nalii stopped. They had come to the top of a ridge, downward was sloppy and anything with less than three legs would probably find it hard to climb up and down.


    At the bottom of the ridge were two foxes dancing around. One was the mesmerizing fox that had distracted the group, and the other was a red fox who also had two tails, but its mannerisms were different.


    Whereas the fox that moved its tails in a mesmerizing way looked innocent and charming, the other was rough, its eyes were filled with a fiery passion and its movements were a bit more aggressive.


    This fox reminded Kael too much about Eidel, ¡¯Could it be?¡¯ He wondered.


    The two foxes were so busy sharing the fish that they didn¡¯t see the nine big cats at the top of the ridge behind them.


    Katari let out a small growl to alert the two foxes. The two foxes were so shocked that they jumped in fright.


    They were stunned to see the nine strange creatures that they left at the river standing at the top of the ridge with something like a playful grin on their faces. Wasn¡¯t this too petty?


    All they had taken was two fishes among a pile of multiple dozens. To think that they would follow them here just for these fishes.


    The male fox among the two, the fiery one, bared her teeth as she growled at them defiantly.


    Priya immediately stepped forward and thundered into their minds, "HOW DARE YOU!" Her eyes narrowed dangerously as the foxes felt a terrifying headache.


    The mesmerizing fox reacted surprisingly quickly to this. Her two tails swished as a grey glow spread out from her to the fiery fox making him also recover from the headache.


    Priya was not surprised by this, she could sense the same type of energy in her from the mesmerizing fox. Her interest in the fox grew.


    The mesmerizing fox was smart, she instantly recognized the predatory glint flashing through the eyes of these creatures. That playful gaze that was filled with killing intent, she recognized it all too well.


    Instantly, the two foxes turned into two red blurs as they ran swiftly for their lives.


    Kael stared at the two foxes as they whizzed past trees, getting further away from them.


    He looked to his left, Katari, Priya, Eidel, and Diane stood side by side. By his right, Nalii, Ruda, Olivia, and Zabita stood next to each other.


    He looked back at the distancing figures with a villainous smirk, "Catch them," He ordered. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Immediately the words finished resounding in their heads, the lionesses made their moves as they rushed down the ridge and at the foxes. Katari, Diane, and Ruda made it to the forefront with Ruda chasing frantically with a crazed look in her eyes.


    Olivia wasn¡¯t exactly running, more like jogging but at least she was making a move. Kael shook his head as he sat down at the top of the ridge, enjoying the peace of the forest and the benefits of being a pride leader.


    He closed his eyes, digesting the silence. His ears twitched, listening for the far sounds of the birds.


    Then his eyelids snapped up, his golden eyes stared up at the tree above him.


    There on the tree was a strange-looking spider resting on a spider web. The spider would be the size of a human palm, Kael guessed.


    It was pitch black in color with eight needle-like legs and eight beady eyes staring straight at Kael.


    Kael had the feeling that this spider was not ordinary. First, the foxes, then this spider.


    The spider was too high and Kael was too lazy to investigate further about this spider.


    He heard the growls in the distance and stood up. His large golden form jumped down from the ridge top. His mane which had already begun showing in the sides of his neck fluffed up and down.


    With confidence oozing off every step he took, he made his way to the lionesses.


    *****


    Ruda was on the tails of the mesmerizing fox, her snapping jaws just a few inches away from biting her tail.


    The fox whizzed left and right, hoping to throw these lionesses off her trail but they were just relentless.


    With every turn she made, there was a lioness waiting for her.


    ¡¯What are these things,¡¯ She asked herself as she dodged a metal claw attack from Zabita and ran right under her belly.


    She had only covered less than ten meters when Katari mysteriously appeared in front of her.


    This was the most dangerous one, she was aware. It was this lioness with smooth lustrous fur that had gotten too close for comfort multiple times.


    Luckily, her life mate came just in time. He blurred past Katari¡¯s face with insane speed and right behind him was Diane.


    Diane couldn¡¯t stop herself from moving and slammed into Katari.


    The mesmerizing fox didn¡¯t look behind her to check how her pursuers were doing, she ran after the fiery fox.


    The funny thing was that both foxes were running with one fish in their mouths. Even now, they haven¡¯t let go of their stolen goods.


    They could see their burrow ahead, just a few more steps¡­


    *WHOOSH!*


    A stream of fire shot towards the burrow from behind them. They could feel the searing heat from above as the beam hit the entrance of the burrow.


    The explosive expansion of flames was reflected in the black eyes of the foxes. To their horror, their home was gone, just like that.


    The surrounding trees went up in flames and the grass turned to ashes soon after. The heat wave slapped their faces, mocking them for their powerlessness.


    Eidel closed her smoking mouth, she was the only one who wasn¡¯t playing when chasing after these two foxes. Her fiery eyes locked on the form of the red fiery fox, her interest rising.


    The two foxes turned to their pursuers, tears almost falling from their eyes. As of now, they were two beasts with nowhere to run.


    How poetic.

 Chapter 43: Do You Have Children?

    Lions were in fact nature¡¯s bullies. When lions are well-fed, apart from lazying around, they pass their time by bullying other creatures. One could think of it as a way to make everyone know who¡¯s boss.


    Bullies, that¡¯s what the foxes thought of these big cats. Why couldn¡¯t they let go of two fishes?


    While the fish was in their mouth, they could taste the roasted flesh with their tongues. Even they were not willing to let go.


    Unfortunately for them, the Ol-mytee was not chasing them because of two fishes.


    "BACK OFF!" A sweet but aggressive voice echoed in the minds of the lionesses. It was the telepathic voice of the mesmerizing fox.


    With every step she took backward, the lionesses closed in on her. Her teeth were bared and he growled and barked with all her might but the lionesses remained unflinching.


    No matter how hypnotizing her tails were when they, their eyes remained focused, a grey glow flashing once in a while from Priya.


    The other fox was more direct and less thoughtful. His fur immediately burst into flames as he lunged after Olivia.


    Unknown to everyone, a soft yellow glow escaped her body, undetectable to anyone. Olivia shrank her neck backward just in time for Ruda to speedily slap the fox away.


    The fiery fox got up fast, his two tails exploding into jet streams. He rushed Ruda, surprising her and the lionesses.


    The fox packed quite a punch, he hit Ruda right on her nose with his head, like a mad goat.


    Ruda fell hard to the ground with blood spilling from her nose. The mesmerizing fox, seeing her partner fighting so crazily, had no choice but to join in.


    She jumped at Priya, the one she was most weary of. Priya didn¡¯t see this coming and ended up having a feisty fox on her face.


    The mesmerizing fox grabbed onto Priya¡¯s cheeks with her sharp claws, making Priya let out a painful roar.


    Zabita slapped at Priya¡¯s face. Her metal claws reflected a dangerous light. She stopped just in time as the mesmerizing fox jumped off Priya¡¯s face. Zabita was so close to clawing her mother¡¯s face off.


    Katari stared at all of this with a calm gaze. She knew that her pride sisters were not really serious about catching these two foxes.


    Each fox might have the same power level as a lion at base, but they were outnumbered four to one, not to mention three of these lionesses had only had their powers for about a month, they were quite inexperienced when it came to fighting other creatures with awakened Hearts.


    This moment could serve as a way to train them. After all, she doubted if these foxes would be the only special animals they would encounter in their lives.


    Just then, she perceived the familiar scent of a certain golden lion getting stronger. Not just her, the others could also smell that sweet aromatic scent.


    This prompted a level of seriousness to overcome the lionesses. They began to put more effort into catching these little thieves.


    By the time Kael¡¯s figure was visible, the two foxes were tied down by strong vines. They already knew they were going to lose this fight, they just didn¡¯t expect to not bring even one lioness down.


    The fiery fox had every limb on his body bound to the ground, his snout was then bound by another vine.


    The mesmerizing fox on the other hand was fidgeting on the ground as purple electricity occasionally circled her body.


    Nalii could only handle tying down one fox for now. Ruda sat down beside the mesmerizing fox like a soldier waiting for her general after completing a mission.


    Kael¡¯s golden eyes rested on his group of lionesses, he was satisfied with their composure when waiting for him.


    His gaze landed on the two foxes, interest sparkling in his eyes.


    "Hello, foxies" Kael spoke into their minds when he finally stood before them. His large form cast a shadow on the two, adding to the oppressive feeling they got from him.


    The two foxes didn¡¯t react to his words, they chose not to. The fiery dkx was struggling to get the vines off him and the mesmerizing was half paralyzed, only able to twitch her body. With Ruda standing beside her and passing electric currents into her body once in a while, she was basically hopeless.


    Kael noticed how they were not surprised to hear voices in their head, as though they were used to it.


    "I¡¯m going to allow them to release you guys. If you run, the next time we see you, we¡¯ll kill you." Kael stated plainly as he sat down and signaled Nalii and Ruda.


    The glow on Nalii¡¯s horns died down and Ruda stepped away from the fox.


    The vines binding the fiery fox withered away until they were weak enough for him to break away.


    The mesmerizing fox slowly got up from the ground as she recovered her motor skills. The two foxes looked at each other, communicating with each other on a private level.


    In an instant, they came to a decision, they decided not to run. They couldn¡¯t outrun the pride before, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun them again.


    Kael was satisfied, he could see that the mesmerizing fox was the one doing most of the thinking.


    "You must be hungry, I can see," Kael said, seeing the two fish that had at some point fallen from the two foxes¡¯ mouths. No one touched the fish.


    "Yes," The mesmerizing fox said as she nodded her head. The fiery fox did not seem to particularly approve of what they were doing but he complied.


    Kael thought of something and asked another question, "Do you have children¡­ that you wish to feed," He stared at them intently.


    The two foxes were surprised at the sudden intensity Kael was showing. They hurriedly shook their head, signifying their lack of offspring.


    "They are telling the truth," Priya said as she finished scanning the mind of the fiery fox. She didn¡¯t bother trying to get into the mind of the mesmerizing fox.


    Kael nodded, feeling unfortunate. How was he supposed to effectively threaten them if they didn¡¯t have much to lose? He quickly shook his head, getting rid of the dark thoughts.


    He really needed to find a better way for people to do what he wanted, but he had just been an ordinary man in his past life. He knew nothing about politics or how kings actually governed their subjects.


    Everything he was doing concerning building this kingdom of his was usually learned on the spot or from the Primordial Lion memories.


    "Very well then, from now on, you are my subjects, I¡¯ll have need of you soon." Kael said, confusing the duo, "Do you accept?"


    When he asked this question, Katari mysteriously appeared behind them like a ghost. Her threatening presence made the two foxes nod in fear. Freedom was in sight, they¡¯d do anything to get away from these monsters.


    A golden screen appeared in front of the two foxes. This was another Primordial Record that Kael had created. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He decided to have a Primordial Record exclusive for Lions and another just for other animals. He had a vision, a plan for his future, and he felt that these Primordial Records could be of great help.


    As soon as the foxes showed the intention of accepting Kael¡¯s decree, two identity marks appeared on the screen. The foxes didn¡¯t know why but they felt that they had now been bound to an invisible chain.


    Satisfied, Kael smiled. His smile looked very weird since he had the mouth of a lion, flashing a set of luxurious golden teeth anytime he smiled.


    "Let¡¯s go," Kael walked away and the other lionesses followed.


    Katari, who was behind the foxes pushed them forward with paws, intending for them to follow Kael.


    "W-wait, you said we could go!" Alarmed, the mesmerizing fox shouted into their minds.


    Priya shook her head, "He never said so, plus, you still have to show us around," she said.


    The foxes felt their spines tingling, the more they stayed close to these monsters, the more they felt closer to death. It was as if their chances of dying increased exponentially every time they got close to one lioness.


    "Also, take the fish," Katari commanded.


    "Thank you," The mesmerizing fox said. Their stomach had been grumbling since the vain fight but they didn¡¯t dare to take the fish again at that time.


    The fiery fox quickly grabbed the two fish by their tails with his mouth, holding onto one for his smarter partner.


    "Do you have a name?" Kael asked out of the blue. He didn¡¯t turn his back to look at them, he just kept walking while he waited for an answer.


    "Name? No" The mesmerizing fox said, shaking her head.


    "*Sigh* Okay, I¡¯ll call you Vicky, and your partner, Igor. Is that fine with you?" Kael said, even though he wasn¡¯t expecting a rejection.


    "Yes," Vixy nodded while she recited the name in her mind over and over again. At the same time, her cunning mind began cooking up a plan to get away from this current predicament.

 Chapter 44: Humanoid

    Vixy and Igor quietly munched on their roasted fish as Kael and the lionesses waited for them to finish eating.


    The group rested under the green canopies that were formed by the tall trees. The temperature was okay and the soft breeze made them feel well rested.


    The songs of unknown birds filled their ears, not in a noisy way though. The songs enhanced the ambiance of the forest environment.


    "You must know your way around this forest quite well," Kael said to the two foxes.


    Vixy licked her mouth as she swallowed the last piece of the roasted fish, "Yes," She answered truthfully.


    "Good, we¡¯ll be looking for a good den for us to take over¡­" Kael began, garnering the attention of all the lionesses. They looked at him with anticipation.


    Vixy and Igor listened attentively.


    "We have basic requirements, of course, it should be close to a river or another water body. Preferably a cave and the opening should have enough exposure to sunlight¡­"


    When Kael was describing this place, he remembered the type of artificial caves he had seen in Bethel¡¯s and Noel¡¯s memories.


    Of course, as a human, there were some things he wished to add, he had his own ideas.


    Vixy and Igor tilted their heads in confusion as they listened to Kael. Weren¡¯t these requirements too much for a place that was supposed to occur naturally?


    "So, have you seen such a place?" Kael asked. The lionesses all turned their heads to look at the two foxes in a crew manner.


    Vixy searched her memory, but she still couldn¡¯t find a place like what Kael described.


    She shook her head, earning her a disappointed look from the Ol-mytee Pride. This disappointed look made Vixy feel infinitely close to death for some reason.


    The light of interest in Kael¡¯s eyes died away as he started thinking of what other use he could have for these foxes.


    He felt no emotional connection to these foxes and he held himself back from doing so to maintain the level-headedness to make use of these foxes well enough.


    Vixy seeing that the way Kael was looking at her had changed, she panicked.


    "What are we going to do?" She asked her partner, Igor, on a private telepathic channel.


    Igor¡¯s eyes went wide as he responded "I don¡¯t know, I was about to ask you,"


    "Me?"


    "Yes, you are the smart one."


    Vixy¡¯s ears dropped low in disappointment. They sat in silence for a couple of seconds before Igor suddenly perked up again.


    "Wait, don¡¯t these monsters look familiar to you?" Igor asked.


    Vixy looked at the lioness with the corner of her eyes. "Yes, they look like those big striped guys with orange fur," Vixy answered.


    Igor shook his head vigorously, "No! I mean, haven¡¯t we seen their kind before?"


    A look of sudden realization appeared on Vixy¡¯s face as she instantly remembered what Igor was talking about.


    "Yes, yes, yes, we¡¯ve seen one of them before. At the mountain cave far away, one of them with strange markings." Vixy said, making Igor nod his head to confirm.


    "Wait!" Vixy immediately called out to Kael.


    Kael refocused his gaze on Vixy, "What is it?" He asked.


    "I remember that there is a mountain quite some distance from these outskirts. It has everything you want¡­but¡­" Vixy trailed off.


    She had the mind to deceive Kael and his group but she was smart enough to scrap that plan. There was no guarantee that Kael would fall in battle just because she withheld information, she would be a goner if that was the case. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But what?" The light of interest appeared in Kael¡¯s eyes again, and so did the lionesses.


    "Well, there¡¯s an occupant there already, we assume so," Vixy said.


    "Explain," Kael frowned, he didn¡¯t like the way she was beating around the bush.


    "Dozens of full moons ago, we wandered to a new region, there we found the edge of the world, beyond the land was nothing but water.


    We saw this vast expanse of water with our own eyes, it was both majestic and frightening.


    We backtracked hoping to find our way to the forest outskirts again. We may have mistracked as we ended up encountering a mountain after four days of travel."


    Kael wondered to himself as he listened. The vast expanse of water they saw was likely the seawater that surrounded this continent.


    ¡¯Their four days of travel would likely be two days for us. But why would the ocean be so close? I would have expected a month of travel to go from here to any ocean. Unless this forest is just a strip from a bigger forest to the left or right.¡¯


    Vixy continued talking, oblivious to Kael¡¯s thoughts. "There, we saw another creature, just like you. She looked just like this mysterious one, except with some differences,"


    When referring to the ¡¯mysterious one¡¯ Vixy looked at Katari.


    "What kind of differences?" Kael asked.


    Vixy¡¯s eyes clouded as she tried to remember every detail. "She was big, bigger than you if I must say."


    Kael¡¯s originally elevated mood instantly plummeted. What did it mean if a lioness was bigger than him? Especially in this early stage of power building, it meant that she was stronger than him.


    "...Oh, and she had glowing markings on some parts of her body."


    ¡¯FUCK!¡¯ Kael instantly knew the type of lion that Vixy was talking about. His mood got worse again.


    Vixy¡¯s face lit up with fascination as she said, "And as we watched her from afar, we witnessed the most amazing thing.


    She actually transformed from one form to another. It was weird to see a creature change shape like that. If we didn¡¯t see it with our own eyes, we would never believe it.


    She walked on two legs like a bird, her front paw moved around so flexibly that we were entranced. Even after transforming, the glowing markings remained on her body.


    The only time we had seen something like that was with the Howling ones and the eight-legged monsters. I have heard of similar things happening to other animals but I never thought I¡¯d see one happen so close."


    When Vixy finished, Kael had a storm of mood swings. At first, he was cautious and sad, then he became excited, then cautious again.


    From her words, he could tell that this lioness was very powerful. What excited him the most was her ability to transform. He knew without a doubt that that was the unknown lioness changing into her humanoid form.


    He had hoped to one day be able to transform into a human, not because he found anything better in a human body besides the hands but because of the familiarity.


    He could only contain his perverted excitement when he imagined the lionesses in humanoid forms.


    Kael was very much aware that the lionesses all saw him as the father of their future children, and they looked forward to doing it with him. But Kael had eyes beyond that so he wasn¡¯t in the mood nor the mindset to entertain sex with lionesses while still being a lion.


    Not that he couldn¡¯t, he just hadn¡¯t gotten himself into the right mindset.


    This would change if the lionesses could assume human forms though.


    Another thing he got from the fox was that they had heard and seen other creatures transform like this unknown lioness, albeit from a distance.


    "And why weren¡¯t you able to see the wolves up close when they transformed? What made that lioness different." Kael asked a crucial question.


    "Wolves? Lioness?" The fox tilted her head, confused. She had never heard these terms before.


    Kael face-palmed in his mind, "I mean the howling ones and that one that looks like us." He said, sometimes he forgot that these animals didn¡¯t go to school and didn¡¯t know their own names, talk less of others.


    "Oh," Vixy mindfully kept those terms to heart, "The wolves are always in groups with the strongest usually surrounded on all sides. They have scouts that would find us before we got too close.


    The¡­Lioness?...Yeah, the lioness was pretty much by herself." She finished.


    Kael nodded, secretly fascinated by Vixy¡¯s intelligence. ¡¯So a lone Lioness huh?¡¯ He thought to himself.


    "Tell me about the wolves," Kael asked. He was still interested in the lioness but everything in due time.


    Vixy seemed wary after Kael asked this question, "The Wolves? They are vicious predators who have dominated a part of the forest for a long time now. They divide themselves into something the spirit howlers call packs.


    Some packs are small, some are very large. But each wolf is strong with sharp teeth and claws.


    Luckily, the Howling ones don¡¯t see us as food and usually ignore us or chase us away.


    The only ones who have been able to keep the wolves in check are the big furry guys, the striped ones, and the eight legs who showed themselves recently."


    Vixy was becoming more talkative the more she stayed here even though she was very much afraid and Igor noticed this. He could only show his displeasure with a frown.


    "You will tell me about the current state of the forest while we head to the place of that lioness," Kael said as he stood up. The other lionesses followed, they were more interested in finding this new den and meeting that lioness.


    "Aaah!" Vixy almost broke into tears, she thought that they would let her go now that she had told them what she knew. If she had known, she would have just kept her mouth shut and not told Kael about the mountain.


    But if she did, she might have quickly lost value in Kael¡¯s eyes, and then¡­


    This group of lions may not be so kind that they would flinch when going back on their words.


    They had just begun walking with Vixy and Igor at the front with Katari and Diane right behind them when Kael suddenly stopped.


    He felt a sicky sensation coming over his body, he felt the Primordial Laws tugging at his very being.


    He instinctively opened the Primordial Record in front of his face, the one that had the identity marks of lions.


    One of the three pride leader marks was glowing and the words he wrote, [Kill a gazelle, Reward: 1 stone] were also glowing.


    ¡¯Someone finally killed a gazelle?¡¯ Was the only thought that could come to Kael¡¯s mind.

 Chapter 45: Referral System

    A golden portal opened above Kael¡¯s head with a terrifying suction force.


    Besides Kael, the group felt a terrifying suction force that did not just affect their bodies but their souls.


    A long golden tendril, as if having a mind of its own, came out of the golden portal. It circled around, seemingly looking for something.


    Then it shot down in front of Kael, and when it rose back up, its end was wrapped around a stone the size of Kael¡¯s paw.


    Kael endured the sickening feeling he felt as he saw the golden tendril shoot back into the golden portal with the stone.


    ****** sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Meanwhile, more than a hundred kilometers away.


    The young pride leader was casually enjoying the meat of a gazelle. It had been a long time since he ate something like this.


    His six lionesses stood not far from him, waiting for the leader to finish eating. With the way the pride leader was munching on this dead gazelle, they doubted if much would be left after he was done.


    It had been five weeks since Kael passed this group, leaving a bad taste in their mouth whenever they remembered.


    The lionesses have pretty much gotten over it, although it took their lioness motherly instinct a long time to die off. This didn¡¯t mean they saw Kael in a neutral light though.


    They and pride leaders had been seeing the words on the Primordial Record which they found they could summon whenever they wanted.


    They understood what it meant but not its details. The Primordial Record allowed them to immediately understand what a gazelle and a stone were, but they didn¡¯t understand the essence of the quest.


    After all, what were they supposed to do with a stone if that was the reward for killing a Gazelle?


    They had even forgotten about it until today when they had chanced upon a gazelle and decided to huntonit down.


    Suddenly, a golden portal appeared in front of him, and out of it came a stone bigger than the young pride leader¡¯s paw.


    The stone fell into the exposed inside of the gazelle, splashing blood and meat pieces on the pride leader¡¯s face.


    The lionesses were stunned, they hurried over to see what happened. The pride leader shook his head to get rid of the splashed blood.


    A surge of understanding filled his mind as he looked at the bloody stone.


    *****


    Kael stood in place, his eyes dazed, almost in a trance.


    Katari and the others tensed up when they saw Kael¡¯s unfocused expression, they thought he was about to go crazy again.


    Vixy and Igor did not understand what was happening but they also tensed up, ready to run for their lives if they had to.


    But Kael was just lost in deep thought. He was simply thinking deeply about the Primordial laws that were supposed to be his powers.


    Kael had been trying to understand how the Primordial laws worked. He understood that it couldn¡¯t be used directly like how the other lionhearts used their powers. He had to form things like contracts or Primordial Records for it to be used.


    All this time, he had assumed that there was no limit to the power of the Primordial laws and as long as he mastered it, he would become omnipotent.


    Maybe all he would have to do is evolve a couple of times, become the biggest lion in the jungle, and reign supreme.


    But it wasn¡¯t that simple, he had finally come to realize. Today, he finally found the weakness of the Primordial laws, and it was that it couldn¡¯t be broken.


    Just now, when the young pride leader had killed the gazelle, the Primordial laws activated, seeking to complete its operation automatically.


    Kael didn¡¯t know that by writing those words, [Kill a gazelle, Reward: 1 stone], he had inadvertently created a minor Primordial law.


    The Primordial laws were like a programming language, and Kael was the computer. Computers could not go against their programming even if they were the ones who created it, and Kael couldn¡¯t go against his laws even if he was the one who formed it.


    If he had erased those words before any lion killed a gazelle, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered and nothing would happen even if someone eventually killed a gazelle.


    But after the requirements for the laws to be activated were met, Kael could do nothing. As the lawmaker, he had to give the reward.


    But Kael was not holding any stone at that time so he felt sick, as if he was dying. Kael felt that if that portal had not opened up at that moment to take the stone in front of him, he would have died eventually as compensation for breaking the law.


    Kael thought of how every race was supposed to have its own Primordial. There were millions, if not billions of races across the universe. That meant that there were possibly billions of primordials of difficult races existing at the same time.


    Each one of them had different experiences and were forming laws based on how they experienced life.


    But no matter what, they couldn¡¯t break their own laws unless they would die.


    He should have known, there was truly nothing that provided benefits without its hidden disadvantages.


    If that young lion didn¡¯t kill the gazelle today, he would never know.


    Who knew? He might do something stupid in the future and formulate a law that was different to adhere to, even for him, and then end up dying in the process.


    He would only have himself to blame them.


    Kael¡¯s gaze refocused as he took steady steps forward. "Lead the way," He said coldly to the two foxes, not bothering to explain anything to anyone.


    The lionesses looked at themselves, relief and confusion flashing through their eyes. Deciding not to talk about it, they continued their journey.


    Kael still found something to be happy about though after thinking for a while.


    The fact that he could use incentives to make lions do things for him through the Primordial Record came to his mind.


    If it was merely giving a mission and rewarding after that mission, it would be nothing as he could just do that face to face.


    But with the Primordial Record, he could ask for specific things to be done, things that would benefit him and his pride. All he had to do was give out an incentive and there was assurance that what he wanted to happen would happen.


    It was like discovering the internet for the first time all over again. This was what it meant to attack your enemies from a thousand miles away.


    Thinking of this, Kael began brainstorming ways he could use this feature effectively. Then, it was as if a light bulb went up in his head.


    Back on earth, some companies would look for ways to get customers to visit their websites. They would try advertisements and giveaways until they stumbled upon a unique way to get those customers.


    All they had to do was make the old-time customers willing to introduce the company brand to new people.


    And the best way to make people advertise on your behalf is to give them incentives.


    This was called referral programs. All the old customer had to do was make sure that the new guy signed up for the brand and became a new customer, then the old customer would get a reward for referring someone and successfully making them a customer.


    This method proved to be very effective, especially for digital-based companies that needed to have a wide reach in the world.


    Of course, this method cost resources but most times, the return on investment was worth it.


    Kael didn¡¯t think too much as he immediately summoned the Primordial Record in front of him.


    He wrote, [Add lions to the Primordial Record. Reward: 1 kg of meat per lion].


    He knew that the reward was small but he wanted to start small, he didn¡¯t even know where to get the reward meat from. He smartly chose not to specify what type of meat would be rewarded.


    At this moment, all three of the lion prides that were on the Primordial Record felt like they just heard a ding in their head.


    They all had different expressions on their face as they understood the meaning of this new mission, ¡¯free food,¡¯ One lion in particular looked at his cubs in a new light.


    "What is the biggest animal in this forest?" Kael asked the foxes as they made their way to their destination.


    Vixy tilted her head, "That would be the long noses that reside near the outskirts to the far left side, where the sun usually rises from. They go in and out of the forest very often too so it¡¯s not every time we see them." She stated.


    ¡¯Elephants?¡¯ Kael immediately knew the type of creature Vixy was referring to. "Once we¡¯ve settled down at our den, you¡¯ll show us where we can find them¡­and the wolves." He said.


    Vixy¡¯s ears immediately dropped down in despair. She just knew she wouldn¡¯t be getting away from this group any time soon. ¡¯All because of some stupid fish,¡¯ She lamented in her heart.

 Chapter 46: N’bayé

    More than a day later.


    Kael stared at a distant mountain that could be easily spotted from where he was standing through the tree canopies.


    The mountain was not one of those extremely large types that reached the skies and touched the clouds, but it was high enough.


    Kael¡¯s nose was about to make him go crazy, he could smell the presence of multiple foreign creatures that he had never scented before.


    All the strange scents were pointing him in the direction of the mountain, and the closer they got, the stronger the scents became.


    Among these scents, he could perceive one that was very similar to a lioness but was also very different. He guessed that this was the scent of the mysterious lioness that they would soon meet.


    But the other scents got him puzzled. Did this mean that the mountain was occupied by not just the lioness but other animals? If so then it would be harder to handle.


    At this time, Zabita came and dropped an average-sized white rabbit in front of Kael. A part of the rabbit¡¯s white coat was drenched in blood and its spine was snapped into two which made the whole body look twisted.


    Soon after the rabbit was placed on the ground, a golden portal opened and a tendril shot out of it to grab the rabbit.


    Kael sighed when he saw this, he was helpless. Ever since he dropped that referral-type mission on the Primordial Record, he had been getting sick once in a while.


    This was the twentieth rabbit that they had killed today as a reward for the mission. This meant that some lion somewhere was adding lions to the Primordial Record and receiving these rabbits as a reward.


    Kael could instantly tell by the identity marks that these were just cubs. Lion cubs didn¡¯t know better and would add their identity marks to the Primordial Record after a simple nudge.


    After this, Kael had to erase the mission, it just wasn¡¯t efficient. Even though it was a bit embarrassing for him to close it so soon, this method wasn¡¯t sustainable for him in the long run.


    The referral program was a good idea but the reward system wasn¡¯t sustainable. He had to think of a way to provide incentives, without it crippling him economically.


    Kael could only put this issue at the back of his mind for now, not all problems had to be solved immediately, there was no rush.


    He refocused on the mountain ahead. The two foxes were tired, they had been walking all day and all night without rest.


    Physically they were okay as Karlnhaf allowed them to hunt some small animals to eat along with the lionesses, but mentally, they wanted to sleep.


    Even the lionesses were also seeking a moment of shut-eye.


    Kael did this intentionally, it was so that they would be even more eager to reach their new den, for that is the only time they would be able to sleep peacefully.


    Alas, the mountain was farther than they anticipated. The short legs of the foxes and their perspective of how far the mountain was got them very confused, thinking it may not be as far as they thought.


    After resting for a couple of hours, they hit the road again, more energized and ready for possible violence.


    A day later and after leaving a trail of animal carcasses behind, they finally arrived at the foot of the mountain.


    A colossal amount of scents hit their nose like a food truck, making them aware that this mountain was home to more than one creature in this forest.


    Kael followed the familiar smell of a lioness and went to the right side of the mountain, the rest followed.


    Soon enough, they saw a cave entrance, big and wide enough for four average lions to enter at the same time side by side.


    Kael did not dare enter into this cave, the smell of the lioness was coming from within and it was getting closer. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He could tell that the owner of this cave was coming out through the faint steps he began hearing. He heard the sound of hard claws scraping the stone ground as well as the low threatening growl that was getting louder.


    Kael subconsciously took a step back as he felt the aura. The two foxes had already gone far away, hiding behind a tree, but they chose to watch what would happen instead of just running away. They were curious to a fault.


    Out of the darkness of the cave, came a ridiculously large lioness. Kael¡¯s mouth hung down as he was flabbergasted to the core.


    It was one thing to see and experience it through the memories of the Primordial lions, it was a completely different feeling to see it face to face.


    Kael himself was close to two meters long, head and body combined, and way over a meter tall, paws to shoulder. He was already as big as an adult male lion and was still getting bigger. It was estimated that by the end of his fourth year, he would be absolutely massive compared to other lions, probably as big as his father.


    But this lioness before him was even bigger than the Hot Lion Pride leader. Her fur was brownish yellow, like most lions.


    Her paws were so wide that Kael feared they would cover his whole face easily, she towered over by a head and more.


    She didn¡¯t have any eye-catching muscular visuals but the strength in those pillar-like limbs could not be mistaken.


    Across her body were sparse tattoos, all in different styles and colors. There was even a glowing blue tattoo on her head that was shaped like a magic circle.


    Her growls were loud, but her face didn¡¯t seem like she was trying to be violent or anything similar, rather her growls were just unnaturally loud.


    Seeing the lion pride in front of her, the tattooed lioness didn¡¯t stop walking, she got closer and closer.


    The eyes of Katari and the other lionesses widened in surprise as they began to comprehend how big this lioness was compared to them.


    The lionesses¡¯ eyes, Kael could see it, contained an alarmingly high level of intelligence. The way she looked at them was not the same way the other savage beasts looked at them.


    Her eyes were¡­judging.


    Katari stepped forward to stand in front of Kael as she growled and bared her teeth.


    The tattooed lioness stopped in her tracks, confusion coming over her face as she tilted her head. "Did I misjudge?"


    Her voice resounded in the minds of everyone present, surprising them all, especially Priya who felt there was something wrong in the way she spoke.


    The tattooed lioness had a voice that brimmed with confidence. She looked at each of their figures, including the hiding foxes, with a scrutinizing gaze.


    Then, her sharp eyes rested on Kael, the confusion she felt got deeper as she ignored Katari¡¯s warning growls and continued stepping forward.


    Kael didn¡¯t move, he calmly awaited the inevitable. He could escape if he wanted to, but he was very interested in this lioness.


    The aura coming from the lioness implied that she was very dangerous, but the way she behaved suggested that she had no intention of fighting.


    Eidel and Ruda could no longer reign in their anxiety, their bodies lit up as they immediately opened their mouths to launch elemental attacks at the lioness.


    The tattooed lioness didn¡¯t make any move to dodge, she didn¡¯t even give a first glance at the incoming bolt of electricity and ball of fire. Her eyes were still on Kael.


    When the two elemental attacks came close to her, they hit a transparent blue force field that revealed itself the moment it was touched.


    The tattooed lioness was unscathed, her steps did not slow down one bit. She looked like she couldn¡¯t care even if all of them attacked her at the same time.


    "Stand down," Kael commanded, it was futile to try to prove anything at this point. This lioness was stronger than them, by a lot.


    Eventually, the lioness stopped in front of Kael. She tilted her head, observing the golden fur of Kael.


    "I have never seen someone like you before. Intriguing." She said, the lionesses just looked on with different thoughts in their head.


    "You must be a Magus Lion, it¡¯s nice to meet you," Kael exchanges greetings with her, not forgetting to dampen his emotions as much as possible.


    "Magus Lion? How do you know?" She asked with one of her eyebrows raised comically. To see a lioness show so much facial expression made Kael feel like he was talking to a human again.


    "I¡¯m quite knowledgeable about things like that," Kael smiled. His reply seems to earn him the interest of the tattooed lioness the more.


    "We shall see. Anyways, I¡¯ve been expecting you," She lightly commented as she walked around Kael, trying to observe him from every angle.


    "You have?" Kael asked, a bit surprised. He was a bit intimidated by her large form being so close and walking around him like he was some exotic animal in a zoo.


    "Yes, my runes have long detected your presence. Come, come, you all look very tired." She said before turning away and walking back to her cave.


    Kael looked at the lionesses who were equally confused. This tattooed lioness was definitely not simple.


    After some thought, he decided to follow her in. The Ol-mytee lionesses also followed Kael¡¯s lead.


    "If I may ask, do you have a name?" Kael asked, with some form of expectation in his eyes.


    The tattooed lioness paused her movement for a second, a glimpse of excitement passed through her facial expression before it quickly returned to normal.


    "Yes, my name is N¡¯bay¨¦. Do you also have a name?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    Kael nodded, "Yes, my name is Kael. Kael Ol-mytee."

 Chapter 47: I Want You

    N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael lay on the ground, facing each other inside the cave.


    The cave was spacious, allowing all of them to lie down in different areas without it feeling clustered.


    The cave was not just a space with rocks as walls. It had a very high ceiling and how deep into the mountain was not yet known by Kael.


    The walls were decorated with colorful runes that emitted light and provided radiance to the dimly lit cave.


    Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ conversed openly as N¡¯bay¨¦ seemed a bit too eager to have someone to talk to.


    "I came from a lion clan made up of multiple lion prides far away from here¡­" N¡¯bay¨¦ explained.


    "Unfortunately for me, I was exceptional. After I evolved, I became better and smarter than all of them, I couldn¡¯t bear to see myself become a consort for one of the pride leaders.


    So I left. Along the way, I encountered many exotic creatures which I ate if I could. It was what led to me having another evolution and becoming who I am today.


    I have been quite okay with the fact that I¡¯ll die alone and it¡¯s better than living among a bunch of lions who don¡¯t understand how I think. Do you get me, Kael?"


    Kael nodded his head, he was quite impressed with how well-spoken Nbaye was. There was also a certain accent that her telepathic words came with, it was a familiar accent that he heard of but he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it.


    "That¡¯s a considerate way of saying you were surrounded by idiots, and I understand you," Kael said. "Being surrounded by people who don¡¯t get you can be quite depressing compared to just living by yourself."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ nodded with a glimmer in her eyes, "And what about you, where do you come from?" She asked.


    "I also come from a faraway place, a pride not as big as that lion clan of yours, with the rest of my lionesses. I left the pride and they followed." Kael simply stated.


    "Hmm, you left your pride, just like me. Why?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked with her head tilted to the side.


    Kael was stunned by her question. This lioness was indeed thoughtful and her curiosity was way deeper than other lionesses.


    It was now that Kael was fully aware he was interacting with human-level intelligence. Simple answers will not be satisfactory for her.


    "Well, I wanted to start my own pride, that¡¯s why I left." He replied.


    "Why didn¡¯t you just start a clan though? You could have multiple prides in one clan and your pride could even be the dominant pride. Wouldn¡¯t that have been better than coming here just to start your own pride?" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s question was straight to the point.


    Kael paused, not responding for a long time. He looked into N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s yellow eyes which met his with nothing but inquisitiveness.


    There was no sign of fear, anger, or confusion, just curiosity and a little bit of excitement.


    "First of all," Kael began, "I had already formed my pride within my father¡¯s pride, continued stay would only cause conflict.


    Secondly, I will be honest and say that this is the first time I¡¯ve heard about lion clans. Before now, I had never heard of it.


    Finally, our initial plan when we left the pride was to look for a perfect den that would serve as our base and the center of our territory. The reason why we came all this way is because we didn¡¯t find a good den spot on the way here.


    That is until we found this mountain."


    When Kael¡¯s voice trailed off, the cave seemed to be thrust into an oppressive atmosphere.


    The silence was deafening and the lionesses had their limbs twitching, ready for action.


    Kael watched as the look on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s face went from curiosity to amusement. She didn¡¯t seem particularly upset at what Kael said, just amused.


    "What I care about most in the world is knowledge," As N¡¯bay¨¦ said this, she stood up, reminding Kael of just how large she was. His muscles were tense and his claws were almost out.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ saw all this from the corner of her eyes, "I want to know, what do you truly want? Is it my den, or is it more than that?"


    Kael felt his mouth run dry, this lioness was smart.


    "I have met many lions, most of them are satisfied with a simple big tree or a gathering of bushes to serve as their den. You are not ordinary, I can tell, which is why you and your consorts are still alive after meeting me."


    The way N¡¯bay¨¦ spoke, it was as if she was more entertained by their reactions than their existence itself.


    Kael frowned, "Like you said, we aren¡¯t ordinary. What makes you think you could kill us if you wanted to?"


    Kael¡¯s answer caused N¡¯bay¨¦ to sigh, "Perhaps, you might survive if I wanted to kill you, but I doubt if your consorts could."


    Kael did not say anything to this, but his mind was churning. There was nothing more dangerous than someone who was capable of extreme violence but acted like she was harmless. They were like green snakes amid green grasses.


    "But more than that, I am more interested in you," N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    "I have never seen a lion like you before. I wish to know about you in detail, how are you able to have consorts that are so different from each other?"


    Kael shook his head, "I can tell you all you need to know about me, on one condition."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ chuckled, "Name your price."


    Kael took a deep breath and then replied. "You."


    His answer stunned everyone in the cave, even the two foxes that had been covertly listening to the open conversation.


    "What?" N¡¯bay¨¦ was stunned by his unexpected answer.


    "I want you to join my pride," Kael said as he also stood up to look at N¡¯bay¨¦. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Hmm," N¡¯bay¨¦ frowned for the first time, the tattoos on her body glowed brighter, as though they were ready to release a vast amount of energy. "Why?"


    "I need a Magus Lioness in my pride," Kael said.


    "How commanding. But how do you know what type of lioness I am, you never told." N¡¯bay¨¦ stylishly dodged Kael¡¯s request the moment she saw an opportunity.


    "If you join my pride, I can tell you and show you all you need to know.


    I know you can¡¯t resist the temptation for this type of knowledge, as a Magus lioness."


    Kael had a mysterious look on his face as he intensified his gaze as if he had her in the palm of his hand.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ shook her head with a strange toothy smile, "I let you into my home and this is how you treat me? Hehe.


    You indeed seem knowledgeable but you speak like one without experience. I have both knowledge and experience, Kael.


    Instead of bargaining, I could just beat you up till you have no choice but to tell me what I want to know."


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s jade white claws stuck out of her large paws and her tattoos glowed brighter.


    "In front of absolute strength, you have zero bargaining power!" N¡¯bay¨¦ stated in a matter-of-fact-ly manner.


    "Then why haven¡¯t you attacked yet?" Kael asked, realizing that things may not go the way he wanted.


    "Like I said, I¡¯m interested in you in particular." N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s tattoos suddenly dimmed down and she retracted her claws.


    She turned away from Kael and went towards the cave entrance. "You guys can stay here if you want, I appreciate the company." She said nonchalantly before exiting the cave.


    "She is not afraid of us at all. Her mind is filled with so much confidence that she didn¡¯t even care that I was looking into her head¡­" Priya said, still baffled by the character of this tattooed lioness.


    "What do we do now Kael?" Nalii asked.


    "You all might as well start looking at this place as your new home. As for N¡¯bay¨¦, leave her to me," Kael¡¯s words soothed the minds of the lionesses.


    When Kael gave N¡¯bay¨¦ the condition of joining his pride, she didn¡¯t outright refuse, she just dodged it like she didn¡¯t hear anything the first time. The gears in his mind turned rapidly as he thought of how to make use of this negligible action.


    "And you two, don¡¯t go anywhere," He didn¡¯t forget to warn the two foxes, making them lament repeatedly in their minds.


    The Ol-mytee Pride settled down in the cave, and soon all of them dozed off into a deep slumber.


    All but Kael. Kael couldn¡¯t sleep as he was still thinking about what to do about N¡¯bay¨¦. He didn¡¯t like the fact that there was a bullet by his side that could kill him at any moment


    There was no way he could trust her to be so calm with him forever unless she signed a Primordial contract.


    Tired of staying in one place, Kael walked out of the cave for some fresh air. He intended to walk around the vicinity to explore the surroundings and do some patrolling.


    It was now nighttime and the half moon hung in the sky. The nightly breeze brushed in between Kael¡¯s fur, making him feel relaxed.


    However, the distant footsteps and scent of N¡¯bay¨¦ caught his attention. Ever since she left the cave, she had not returned.


    Kael held his breath and made his way over to her casually. He didn¡¯t bother to be stealthy as N¡¯bay¨¦ had proven that it was useless.


    He could use the spatial camouflage but that was a waste of energy for now. What was the point of being stealthy if he wanted her to trust him?


    However, once Kael finally saw N¡¯bay¨¦, he wished he had activated his camouflage before now.


    What he saw shocked him.

 Chapter 48: Magic Markings

    There was a clearing with nothing but short grass with a diameter of less than twenty meters.


    Surrounding this clearing were six slim and tall trees.


    The starlight shone from above into the clearing but that wasn¡¯t what was providing light to this place. It was the glow from the trees that lit up the dark surroundings.


    It was the markings on trees precisely. On each of the trees was a unique marking that glowed a different color from the other.


    The markings were intricate, yet simple, some of them were curved and wavy, like spilled ink. Some were sharp and spiky, like bush thorns.


    These markings, however, were not what caused Kael to be stumped. It was the naked person in the middle of this clearing.


    Standing near the middle of this clearing was a tall woman. She had brown skin with glowing tattoos on different parts of her body. Her hair was shaved off, exposing a perfectly shaped head.


    This woman currently had her back facing Kael so he could see that bubbly naked buttocks of hers. The way her figure formed curves that drew Kael¡¯s eyes like magnetic attracting iron filings was something he could not understand.


    At the end of her spine was the start of a long lioness tail that ended in a tuft of hair. Even this tail had a small red tattoo at the center of its length.


    Currently, this woman was weirdly waving her right hand while she appeared to be holding something in her other hand. Kael couldn¡¯t see what she was holding since she was backing him.


    From the scent he was receiving, Kael knew that this was N¡¯bay¨¦. Just then, the naked woman turned abruptly.


    Her two breasts jiggled, causing Kael¡¯s eyes to follow their every move. Her slightly hairy vagina came into view, looking like a perfect slit.


    Kael didn¡¯t know if he was to continue staring or look away. For some reason known only to men, it was taking longer for him to gather his focus and concentrate.


    How long has it been since he saw a woman? Even in his past life, this would be a forgotten luxury.


    The woman stood in a weird manner, she put all her weight on her toes while her soles were up.


    An oval-shaped head with a small jaw, small lips, a pointed nose, and long black eyebrows. On her shaved head was the blue tattoo that she had while she was a lioness.


    Her eyes were very familiar, the yellowish-brown eyes of a lioness with a dark pupil in the center. They were sharp and piercing as if they could look right through him.


    Her ears were positioned a little bit higher than normal humans would have them. They were particularly bigger and shaped like a lion¡¯s ears.


    They poked themselves from the upper left and right side of her head.


    In his past life, she would be considered of African lineage.


    "What is it?" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s voice sounded out in Kael¡¯s mind.


    Kael snapped out of his stunned state and immediately concentrated. "Your humanoid form?" He asked while keeping a poker face, he made sure to not take his eyes away from her face.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ tilted her head to the side in a seductive yet intriguing manner, "Humanoid Form? Is that what it¡¯s called?"


    Kael blinked, "Why did you shave your hair off?" He asked, nicely dodging the question.


    From the memories, Bethel¡¯s memories to be precise, he knew that lionesses also kept long hair like humans when in their Humanoid Form.


    Still, her shaved head gave her a certain charm that wasn¡¯t seen too often in women who kept their hair.


    "I needed space for my runes, plus I didn¡¯t really like it," N¡¯bay¨¦ said, not elaborating further. She said it as if she would do it again and again.


    Kael was starting to understand N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s view concerning magic, which was the main power of Magus Lions.


    "So what are you doing here?"


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s thin lips curved into a beautiful smile, "I¡¯m experimenting." She said as she walked towards Kael.


    Kael gulped as his eyes subconsciously landed on the twin peaks before going back to her face.


    Now that he was more concentrated, he could see that N¡¯bay¨¦ held a glowing object in her other hand.


    Firmly grasped within her palm was a rock. This rock had a green glowing engraving that was constantly blinking.


    Kael could see that N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s fingers had short and pointy jade white claws.


    "What¡¯s that?" Kael asked.


    "Hehehe, I was expecting you to know," N¡¯bay¨¦ paused in front of Kael with her abdomen right in front of his face.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t seem to know the concept of nakedness and could therefore not feel shy.


    Technically speaking, she was always naked, even in her lioness form. It would be weird if she still felt shy or uncovered in her human form.


    However, for Kael, a former civilized human who was used to seeing humans in some form of clothing, it was heavy on his psyche.


    He came from a society that shunned even the act of exposing some body parts, especially in women, even though a lot of people didn¡¯t really care.


    Open nakedness had still been a taboo that he would have to react to in one way or the other.


    ¡¯So smart, yet so innocent¡­¡¯ Kael thought in his mind.


    "This is a stone, a very ordinary stone," N¡¯bay¨¦ began, "But after I engraved it with runes, it can have different mystic effects."


    She reached out to touch Kael on his head. Kael instinctively retracted his head and got into an attacking position.


    "Relax," N¡¯bay¨¦ said before moving so fast that Kael could not react quickly enough.


    Her finger dug through the dark gold growing mane, easily reaching down to his skin.


    Kael would have continued struggling but he felt a tingling feeling spread from his head down his spine to his whole body. This was a very sweet sensation that instantly incapacitated him.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ scratched Kael¡¯s head slowly, a look of amusement covering her face as she observed Kael¡¯s reaction.


    Kael was on the brink of purring when he viciously pulled his head away, ruthlessly stomping on whatever feelings that was about to bud up.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t seem to care about his reaction, she turned away and walked back to the center of the clearing, her hip swaying sensually and her buttocks moving up and down.


    If Kael didn¡¯t know beforehand, he would think she was doing this on purpose.


    "I was able to detect your presence with the help of stones like this that I¡¯ve scattered around the mountain." She said.


    Kael was now fully focused as he stepped into the clearing, observing each tree carefully.


    "Each stone is connected to one of the trees here. This way, the clearing serves as a center of control."


    "...center of control." Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ said the words at the same time.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at him with a strange light flashing in her eyes. But Kael was now more focused on the trees than on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s naked body.


    "This is impressive, how did you come up with this?" Kael asked.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ shrugged her shoulders, "This is just what I used to learn more about my powers and how to use them. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Countless experiments were made before I got to this level of expertise."


    "So you¡¯re self-taught? Truly impressive." Kael said sincerely.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ smiled, "Thanks."


    "With this, you could literally lay traps, surveillance, and control the forest from the comfort of your home.


    How much area does this cover? Kael asked, excited for something else.


    "I have these marks inscribed on many things hidden in the forest, not just stones. So maybe a lot of area around the mountain is monitored by me from here," N¡¯bay¨¦ answered truthfully.


    "If I¡¯m not wrong, only creatures who have the same type of energy that you have will be able to operate this magic formation?" Kael asked.


    "Yes, you¡¯re right," N¡¯bay¨¦ said excitedly, almost in the process of clapping her hands as if she were a teacher and Kael was the student.


    "This will be very useful," Kael said to N¡¯bay¨¦.


    "Useful for what?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked with her signature head tilting.


    "For my domain expansion, as the king, I should expand my kingdom, don¡¯t you think?" Kael stated


    N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t react negatively, rather she was more amused, like she was expecting this kind of talk from Kael.


    "Don¡¯t forget that this mountain is occupied by other creatures," N¡¯bay¨¦ gave Kael a knowing smile, "If you want to expand your kingdom, you have to kill kings, and you have to kill a lot of them,"


    "And that¡¯s why I need you by my side. I need you to join my pride. With your skills and talent, I would be able to achieve a lot in a short amount of time." Kael hurriedly said as he walked up to N¡¯bay¨¦ who looked down at the stone in her hand.


    "You just met me Kael, what makes you so trusting of me? You don¡¯t even know me well enough to be sure I won¡¯t betray you.


    You don¡¯t even know me well enough to identify my likes and dislikes. You¡¯re not even strong enough to force me into submission.


    You¡¯re not even experienced enough to know that asking a lioness to join your pride can be seen in many confusing ways."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ talked with a frown slowly forming on her face. The blinking green light coming from the stone slowly became stable.


    She looked up to the sky, faced a certain direction, and pulled her arm backward.


    *WHOOSH!*


    She threw the stone hard and far, leaving behind a whistling sound.


    When she turned around, her eyes met with a glowing golden paper floating in front of her face.


    On the golden paper were scribbles and characters of a language she instantly understood.


    Kael spoke out, "I know things you don¡¯t and you know things I will eventually know about. Everything about trust can be talked about as time passes by.


    There is so much we can do and discover together. Why wait when we can start now."


    In his mind, Kael had no intention of allowing N¡¯bay¨¦ time to think about this decision. Both of them were already calculating against each other the moment they met.

 Chapter 49: Newcomers

    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at the contract and read its content.


    "In return for giving you my loyalty, all I get is knowledge?" N¡¯bay¨¦ said. She was curious as to where this floating paper came from but she didn¡¯t think too much about it and was more interested in its content.


    "Not just any knowledge N¡¯bay¨¦¡­" Kael shook his head, "Knowledge about me, what kind of lion I am, knowledge of magus lions, knowledge of every lion subspecies, and most importantly, knowledge of magic.


    This is something that can only be gotten through years of truth finding. Imagine how much time can be saved with this. And you can get all at the price of eternal loyalty."


    The dim lighting coming from the trees worked together to give Kael a devilish appearance. He currently looked like a lion-shaped devil convincing someone to sell their soul.


    "What a rip off¡­" N¡¯bay¨¦ calmly said, "Am eternity of subservience to you all for knowledge that might not be enough."


    Kael shook his head, "There¡¯s no such thing as ¡¯Enough Knowledge¡¯. You should know that N¡¯bay¨¦."


    "What if I¡¯m not satisfied? What do I do then? Am I to remain eternally loyal to you?"


    *Sigh*


    Kael felt a headache coming on, "I¡¯m going to be king. As my consort and one of my supporters, you¡¯ll gain status, and your strength will rise over time.


    You won¡¯t be like other lions that are fated to remain at the same level for most of their lives."


    "I need insurance," N¡¯bay¨¦ finally said what she wanted.


    Kael went silent for some time, thinking hard about what to do. N¡¯bay¨¦ casually went back to doing what she was doing before Kael came.


    She picked up another stone and began drawing red magic markings on it with her finger acting as a pen.


    "Fine," Kael said, making N¡¯bay¨¦ instantly stop what she was doing.


    Kael chose to compromise and the contents of the contract began changing.


    "If you are compelled under a feeling of dissatisfaction, then you won¡¯t be hindered if you wish to leave the Ol-mytee Pride.


    However, this insurance only lasts for ten years. After ten years, you will be unable to back out of the contract irrespective of how you feel at that moment."


    Kael stated the conditions and waited for N¡¯bay¨¦ by the side with half-closed eyes. If N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t accept this contract, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    And if he couldn¡¯t do anything about it, both he and N¡¯bay¨¦ would have no reason to wear the masks of calmness they were wearing now. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at the contract, her thoughts unknown. After she finished reading, a beautiful yet terrifying smile crept on her face.


    The sharp fangs were a bleached white color. Very beautiful but also a reminder of what she truly was.


    "I like this." She said, "I accept," His voice resounded in Kael¡¯s head as the golden contract dissolved into countless moats of light.


    On N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s forehead, a golden crown tattoo embedded itself on her smooth brown forehead, the tip of the crown overlapping with her blue magic tattoo on her shaved head.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ could feel her mind being filled with memories that weren¡¯t hers. The sudden influx of so many memories made N¡¯bay¨¦ start sweating.


    She collapsed to one knee, her breasts jiggling in front of Kael.


    "As promised, everything about All types of lions. I can only give what I have," Kael said with a knowing smile.


    Of course, Kael didn¡¯t send all the memories to N¡¯bay¨¦. The Primordialaws were following the contract and only extracted memories that contained information on Lion subspecies, with the part about Magus Lions being more detailed than the others by a lot.


    And finally, the information load on magic was very extensive. Kael himself didn¡¯t know much about magic but the Primordialaws just extracted everything, including memories about magic that he had never dreamed through.


    Kael feeling satisfied, walked back to the cave. He left N¡¯bay¨¦ in the center of the clearing to digest her gains as it would take some time.


    This time he walked as if he truly owned the place, his head was raised high and his limbs moved with confidence.


    He raised his head to look at the high mountain, a cold light flashing through his eyes.


    "Now that that is done, I should work on actually eliminating the other so-called kings.


    I must definitely evolve to tier 3 before the ten-year limit is up." Saying this, a deceiving smile appeared on Kael¡¯s furry face.


    There were a lot of benefits for a lion to evolve to tier 3, the humanoid transformation was just one of them.


    ##########


    Near the top of the mountain, the mountain peak was just a small distance from touching the clouds.


    A red-haired man sat on the stone ground inside a large cave. The only light source in this cave was the one that escaped through the cave entrance.


    The red-haired man was naked, showing his well-muscled body. The man was particularly large, if Kael was here, he would estimate the man to be around seven feet tall.


    His red hair was long reached his waistline, it contrasted well with his pale skin that had some scars on it.


    Behind him, a crimson tail with black stripes swished from left to right.


    Currently, he sat in a cross-legged position on the floor and his eyes were closed. Occasionally, there would be an appearance of blood-red electricity flowing over his body.


    Suddenly from outside the cave, the sound of powerful wings flapping against the air entered the cave, followed by a strong gust of wind.


    The naked man¡¯s red hair flew back as his eyes slowly opened, revealing two eerie red irises with deep black pupils.


    The two red ears at the top of his head twitched as the sound of something dropping heavily to the ground reached them.


    "Isaiah, what do you want?" The red-haired man opened his mouth to speak in a unique language.


    Another naked man showed himself, walking into the cave while taking small steps.


    The man was slim with lean muscles, unlikely the bulky red-haired man. His hair was brown and his eyes were a striking yellow, like a hawk.


    "I came to gossip, maybe you¡¯d get your ass up and do something for once," Isaiah said with a playful smile. None of them seemed to be self-conscious of their nakedness.


    "What happened?" The red-haired man said before closing his eyes again to continue his meditation. His ears were attentive though.


    Isaiah walked over to sit on a small stone slab that seemed to have been carved out from the ground.


    "First of all, the tension between the wolves and spiders has gotten out of hand. A third party needs to step in before they destroy half of the forest."


    Although Isaiah said this, he didn¡¯t look like he really cared at all.


    "I¡¯m not interested in having anything to do with the wolves, if not, I may have taken action to hold down the spiders." The red-haired man calmly said.


    Isaiah nodded his head, "Yeah, Feyser can be quite troublesome.


    "Anyways, there¡¯s news that there have been some strange appearances in the sky as if the sky was about to break at some point. Some of us are already making preparations."


    "It¡¯s probably just a terrible storm coming, I might have to go out to hunt to also prepare for it." The red-haired man said nonchalantly.


    Hearing this, Isiah instantly got excited, "In that case, I¡¯ll definitely follow you.


    Speaking of going out, there¡¯s a newcomer at the foot of the mountain." Isaiah said as he looked at the red-haired man¡¯s expression but the receiver of the message remained the same, unimpressed.


    "And guess what, they are lions."


    Immediately he heard this, the red-haired man¡¯s eyes shot open and the red electricity around increased in intensity.


    "Has he or she met N¡¯bay¨¦?" He asked.


    Isaiah laughed, "Met her? Hehehe, they are living with her as we speak."


    The red-haired man frowned, "They?"


    "Yes, we have nine newcomers. One lion and eight lionesses. Isn¡¯t that wonderful?" Isiah continued laughing, enjoying the look of discomfort on his friend¡¯s face.


    "Those lions see themselves as the kings of the jungle, a very unstable set of creatures." He said.


    "Not to mention N¡¯bay¨¦ once attempted to take the entire mountain for herself. If not that her neighbors aren¡¯t pushovers, she would have done away with all of us long ago." Isaiah said, his laughing expression slowly turning serious.


    "She may try again now that she has more of her kind with her." The red-haired man became more agitated the more he talked about it.


    "What is scary is that she¡¯s such a schemer. I don¡¯t like her type, always calculative, it¡¯s hard to pinpoint how her mind even works." Isaiah humphed as he folded his hands.


    "What should we do?" Isaiah asked.


    After thinking for some time, the red-haired man calmed down and said, "We don¡¯t need to make a move, tell our neighbors the same thing you have told me, let them deal with this problem for us.


    Most of them are less rational than us after all."


    Isaiah clapped his hands, "Of course Darius, that¡¯s very smart. Now, back to that hunting, when are we going? When should we¡­"


    Darius, the red-haired man, closed his eyes as he instantly sank back into a meditative state, not bothering to listen to Isaiah¡¯s words at all.

 Chapter 50: The Lion Clans

    N¡¯bay¨¦ in her lion form lay at the end of the cave where light could barely reach. She was cuddled with her limbs tucked in and her head resting on the floor.


    She looked disturbed as if she had something weighing on her mind. Her eyes would occasionally glow brightly before becoming normal again.


    She also looked different from before, her rune marks were now more spaced out and well-placed. The glow they emitted was dimmer than before and the lines were more precise.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ was thinking about the knowledge she had gotten from Kael. It would be a lie if she wasn¡¯t shocked by the information.


    Kael wasn¡¯t just a slightly special lion, he was a very special lion whose existence was very crucial to the lion race.


    But that wasn¡¯t all, the information she got about the lion subspecies was also a lot. Many things she had never heard of before were mentioned.


    Most of all was the use of magic. There¡¯s a saying that the more you know, the more you realize that you don¡¯t know much.


    Now that N¡¯bay¨¦ had all this information, she realized that she didn¡¯t really know much about magic and was just using it in its most basic form.


    The more she thought about it, the more a look of obsession clouded her eyes.


    ¡¯But Kael¡­ I didn¡¯t think the knowledge he would give would be this heavy. And there¡¯s the matter of his existence which matters a lot to us lions.¡¯ N¡¯bay¨¦ thought with a frown.


    ¡¯This would change my original plans. There¡¯s still ten years left to decide though.¡¯


    Just then, two lionesses walked to N¡¯bay¨¦. The cave was big enough for forty lions to hoard themselves within so it would be hard for two lionesses to bump into each other accidentally.


    These two were coming to her with a purpose. It surprised her a bit as most of the lionesses barely came close to her in the past two days since she joined the pride.


    The bond between the eight lionesses was such that it would be hard for another lioness to join out of the blue and expect to be treated the same way.


    The two lionesses that were coming were Katari and Nalii. Nalii¡¯s vibrant green fur really made her stand out but in the forest, it sometimes acted as a form of camouflage.


    Her horns were growing out fast, looking like short black antlers that grew backward.


    Katari had her usual indifferent and cold gaze, it was now at a point where she was not aware that she made others uncomfortable with how she looked at them.


    "Greetings N¡¯bay¨¦," Nalii said warmly while Katari remained quiet.


    "Hello Nalii, how are you doing?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked nonchalantly, not putting any significance to her words.


    "I¡¯m good, thanks. We just hunted down two deers and we were wondering if we should bring you some." Nalii seemed to be truly interested in sharing the kill.


    "No thanks, thanks for asking though," N¡¯bay¨¦ said, choosing to respond politely to Nalii¡¯s kind words.


    "Really? We haven¡¯t seen you eat something these last two days." Nalii¡¯s brows furrowed with suspicion in her mind.


    "Don¡¯t worry about me, I can go a week without feeling hungry as long as I eat enough and don¡¯t expend my energy." N¡¯bay¨¦ shook her head.


    "Oh," Katari finally said.


    "Well, okay then," Nalii said, her ears dropping beneath her black antlers. Both she and Katari turned to leave and N¡¯bay¨¦ was about to resume her thinking, oblivious to their inner thoughts.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦, can I ask for something?" Katari suddenly turned and asked in a cold voice. Nalii also turned back, seeing that Katari had decided to ask.


    "What do you want?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked, she had guessed that these two did not come just to share their meat with her.


    "Back then, you mentioned coming from a clan. You also seem to know a lot about this clan thing. We would like to know more." Katari asked as she sat down, as if she knew N¡¯bay¨¦ was definitely going to answer her question.


    "So, you want to know the next direction our pride could be going next, right?" N¡¯bay¨¦ chuckled as she too sat up. Her form towered over the two lionesses as she looked down at them.


    "Yes," Nalii said, most of them had already gotten used to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s large size by now. "We want to learn so that if there is any way we can assist my son in attaining more power, we would be more useful."


    "I see," N¡¯bay¨¦ muttered, "Okay then.


    A lion clan is usually made up of more than one pride with one of them as the dominant pride that leads the other prides.


    Lion clans are usually formed when the numbers start to matter. To govern a large territory, a pride leader needs more than just his consorts.


    Let¡¯s take Kael for example, he seems to have no intention of allowing a male to enter as a pride member which is not unusual.


    But if he wants to govern all this territory by himself, with just you guys, he¡¯s going to find it hard. Even if you guys reach a power level where your roar can cover vast amounts of land, there will still be more land that it cannot cover.


    What Kael needs to do is delegate to other prides who will be subservient to him.


    In most cases, these subservient prides are in some way related to the dominant pride.


    Maybe the pride leaders are sons of the dominant pride leader, maybe brothers, given that these pride leaders are males of course.


    The blood ties serve as an added layer to ensure loyalty and interest alignment.


    This way, the dominant pride leader and his consorts would not have to do everything by themselves.


    Another thing is that in many regions, the lions automatically assume the position of royalty and would kill anything and anyone who dares to show sovereignty over them.


    Within the clan, their titles are very guessable. The dominant pride leader is called the king, while his consorts are just called the king¡¯s consorts.


    A subservient pride leader is called a prince and his consorts are called prince¡¯s consorts.


    In some extremely rare cases, the clan may be led by a female. She would be called a Queen. And if the subservient pride leader is a female, she would be called a princess.


    But this is extremely rare and I have only heard of it happening once.


    Anyways, as long as it¡¯s a lion clan, it would be considered royalty irrespective of the gender in charge.


    The clan I came from was not particularly powerful. The king and some of his consorts were at the same level as you guys when I left while the princes were just ordinary lions.


    I was born in one of the princes¡¯ pride and I stayed there until I luckily evolved to the next level and awakened my lionheart.


    I was not like the king or his consorts who had shiny claws and teeth. I was smarter and I found it hard to settle for being the king¡¯s consort, so I left.


    I told myself that if I didn¡¯t see much of the world, I would return. That is until I managed to kill some high-level beasts and evolved to my current level.


    As it is, I am too intelligent and too strong to be okay with becoming that king¡¯s consort.


    Kael is the first lion I know to match me in terms of intelligence, and maybe strength in the future¡­"


    N¡¯bay¨¦ noticed that she was deviating from the main subject and paused. Nalii and Katari listened attentively to every word she said.


    "If Kael wishes to form his own clan, it¡¯s not impossible, but he would need subservient lions.


    Maybe you guys should work on giving him children, don¡¯t you think? After all, there would be no need to expel children away from the pride if he intends to create a clan."


    Hearing N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s words and how casually she was saying it, Katari and Nalii instantly looked like they had swallowed a fly.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ saw their expression but acted like she didn¡¯t care. From the way they behaved, she could gather that Kael had not touched them sexually, not once.


    "What can we do in the meantime, to help build the clan? The thing is¡­ the thing is¡­" Nalii stammered.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ shook her head, "So he hasn¡¯t made any advances." She said.


    ¡¯But he was looking at me strangely when both of us were at the clearing,¡¯


    "I don¡¯t understand Kael much, but in the meantime, we should focus on improving your strengths and also expanding our territory.


    Unfortunately, if we want to do that, we have to eliminate a lot of problematic figures in this mountain." sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As N¡¯bay¨¦ said that, her eyes emitted lights of mystery and intelligence.


    Katari looked carefully at N¡¯bay¨¦. She just couldn¡¯t find the power in her heart to trust this lioness.

 Chapter 51: Rhino Attack

    *Rumble*


    The ground shook as stomping sounds could be heard coming from above.


    Kael, who was resting outside the cave, looked up to the mountain where the stomping sound was coming from.


    This mountain wasn¡¯t steep, its grounds were flat enough for even hoofed animals to scale it without falling over. Not to mention there were a lot of very flat areas all over the steep mountain.


    This could explain why Kael saw a colossal rhino charging straight at him down the mountain.


    "FUCK!"


    He quickly jumped out of the way just in time for a colossal body to speed past him, bringing a rushing wind with it.


    *BAM!*


    The colossal body slammed into multiple trees but didn¡¯t stop running until after some time.


    Kael got a closer look at this disgustingly huge figure.


    A rhinoceros with thick grey skin, pitch-black eyes, and a murderous aura stood in the midst of the broken trees.


    There was one horn at the edge of his nose, it glowed with a dim yellow light that could still be seen clearly even though it was daytime.


    The rhino would be more than three meters in height, from feet to shoulder. Kael even guessed that this rhino was four meters in height, he just wasn¡¯t willing to believe it.


    That would mean this rhino was just as tall as an average African male elephant.


    "Little one, you must be one of the newcomers, I see." The rhino spoke with a thick and deep voice telepathically. His voice reminded him of the Russian accents from Earth, somehow.


    Kael had noticed that N¡¯bay¨¦ was able to speak telepathically even though she wasn¡¯t a spirit lioness like Priya and he had merely chalked it up to another magic trick. But this rhino being able to also do so made him understand some things.


    Kael stared at the large rhino with his claws bared and his stance adjusted. This rhino had clearly tried to kill him just now, there was no way he would just act like nothing happened.


    "Little one, I¡¯m talking to you. Where is that one that calls herself N¡¯bay¨¦?" The rhino frowned after seeing Kael not respond to him.


    His nostrils flared as white mist rushed out of his nose holes.


    "I¡¯m here,"


    Kael heard N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s telepathic voice as it spread through the minds of all those present.


    He looked back to see nine lionesses rushing towards him, at least eight were running to him. N¡¯bay¨¦ seemed to be taking a casual stroll as if she didn¡¯t care about Kael¡¯s well-being.


    "Hahaha, so you dared to harbor more of your kind here!" The rhino¡¯s voice was boisterous. It wasn¡¯t clear whether he was laughing out of anger or the anger was making him laugh.


    "I have to say, I¡¯m not surprised you¡¯re the first to come. You were never the brightest neighbor, and it shows." N¡¯bay¨¦ said in a mocking tone, finally reaching Kael¡¯s side.


    Kael slowly stepped back, not wanting to be in this fight. He was the pride leader, technically, he was supposed to preserve his energy and only join the fight if it was necessary.


    He didn¡¯t stop sending murderous gazes at the rhino though. He decided to stay just behind the lionesses, not too far from them.


    The rhino, hearing what N¡¯bay¨¦ said, instantly flared up. "Are you calling me dumb?" Rhinos were never the mind to take insults kindly.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ chuckled, "If I called you smart, would you dare accept it?"


    Kael had a strange expression on his face, why was N¡¯bay¨¦ insulting this guy as soon as she saw him? S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The rhino scraped his front leg on the ground, kicking back a cloud of dust, "If I don¡¯t end you today, then I¡¯m not a rhino!"


    He charged forward at such frightening speeds that Kael wondered how something so large could move so fast.


    "Stay out of his way and assist me if you can," N¡¯bay¨¦ quickly said as the rune marks on her body began glowing.


    The eight other lionesses hurriedly moved out of the way seeing the crazy rhinoceros. Since N¡¯bay¨¦ was the one who insulted him, he went after her first.


    ¡¯Oh, she¡¯s attracting all the aggro to herself, like those games,¡¯ Kael thought, understanding what N¡¯bay¨¦ had done.


    *BOOM!*


    The rhino slammed into an invisible barrier in front of N¡¯bay¨¦. The force of the collision blew the dust away and even Kael could feel the ground tremble. Not saying anything, he took multiple steps back again.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked up at the glowing yellow horn that was just a few inches from touching her.


    The circular blue rune on her head glowed brightly and the next thing the rhino knew, he was blasted away.


    His large form flew through the air, destroying more trees in the process.


    Just when the rhino landed, a beam of fire hit him right in the shoulder. The rhino stood up, seemingly not feeling the heat on his body, but he was.


    He turned his head to see a flaming lioness with her mouth opened wide, spitting fire at him from a distance.


    Perhaps, the fire would have been hotter if they were closer.


    Releasing a grunt of anger, he rushed at Eidel, straight through the flames. He was very fast and would have reached her quickly if a purple blur had not sped past him.


    His black eyes searched for the origin of the numbing feeling on his face, momentarily allowing Eidel the time to step away.


    Just a little bit late and she would have been pierced by his horn.


    The rhino skid to a halt so that he would turn around. Then, a red magic circle appeared under him, wide enough to cover his length.


    Multiple red slimy tongue-like things came out of the lines of the red circle before wrapping themselves around the limbs and body of the rhino.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ was walking towards the rhino leisurely, a calculative gaze resting on the adversary.


    The rhino struggled to break free from the tongue-like tendrils, but they were too strong.


    Nalii who had come behind the rhino had her horns glow a bright green. Vines slithered out of the soil and made their way to the rhino.


    They joined the red tongues to wrap around the rhino¡¯s limbs. This added hindrance finally succeeded in bringing the rhino to his four knees.


    But he wasn¡¯t having it. His singular curved horn on his nose bridge glowed brightly.


    "Do you think your tricks can stop me?!" He shouted.


    *CRACK CRACK CRACK!*


    Suddenly, multiple earthen spikes burst out of the ground in an omnidirectional manner.


    Each spike bore a striking resemblance to the rhino¡¯s horn, thick and pointy.


    The spikes managed to disrupt the red magic circle and cut off the vines and they didn¡¯t stop there.


    They spread out, and soon they would reach the lionesses and pierce through them.


    The rhino could already see the look of horror on some of the lionesses¡¯ faces.


    However, his wish did not come through as an invisible barrier appeared over each lioness and blocked all the spikes heading for them. They remained unscathed.


    The rhino turned to look at N¡¯bay¨¦ who was close to him. Immediately, he made a hasty decision without thinking properly.


    His body began trembling as his bones and muscles twisted and reassembled themselves.


    His skin grew lighter but remained rough, like a grey stone. His rhino hooves twisted and transformed into human-like hands. His hind legs also transformed and became human-like feet.


    He stood upright on his two legs, reaching a height of three meters. His muscles bulged as he roared to the sky.


    One horn stood at the center of his forehead, giving off a familiar yellow glow. Kael, who watched from far away, observed this transformation sequence with interest.


    ¡¯Exactly where I want you.¡¯ N¡¯bay¨¦ thought to herself as she suddenly started running.


    The runes on her body lit up as she licked up speed and reached the rhino man within a second.


    The rhino man threw a punch at her and she met it with a claw.


    *BOOM!*


    The rhino man was sent flying. If one looked closely, they would see a circular glowing rune on the back of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s two front paws.


    "DIE!"


    The rhino man shouted as he used his two thick arms to grab onto the ground before launching himself at N¡¯bay¨¦.


    Unfortunately for him, N¡¯bay¨¦ reached him first. Her head slammed into his chest, sending him to the ground as the earth beneath him cracked.


    The rhino man wheezed, gasping for air.


    He raised his arms just in time to hold onto N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s upper and lower jaw that was just about to close in on his neck. Using all his might, he kicked her away.


    When he stood up, he slammed his feet into the ground, causing a mini earthquake. Earth platforms rose from the ground, hindering N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s movement.


    With all his attention on N¡¯bay¨¦ once again, the rhino man forgot about the eight other lionesses around the corner.

 Chapter 52: Expenditure

    The Humanoid Form provided a couple of benefits to the high-level animals, and one of them was endurance.


    The human body serves as a form of limiter, ensuring that energy expenditure are kept lower than usual.


    This makes it so that if a creature could do a certain activity for one hour straight in its true form before getting tired, then in its humanoid form, it would be able to do that same activity for three hours straight.


    However, this trait of the human body came with a trade-off. That was the reduced strength.


    A creature would only be able to keep at most one-third of his or her original strength while being in their human form.


    No one knew why creatures could take on this form after reaching a certain power level, and no one understood why there was such a disadvantage and advantage that came with it.


    In a drawn-out fight, the human form would be very good for a battle of attrition.


    With this obvious knowledge, the rhino had taken on his human form as he could see he was expending too much energy trying to fight these lionesses


    If he was fighting just N¡¯bay¨¦, there would be no need to take on this human form of his. But with the eight other lionesses interfering, it had become troublesome.


    On a normal day, none of these lionesses could hold a candle to him. They would all die by his horn with little chance to escape.


    But N¡¯bay¨¦ was here, hitting him left and right with magical tricks that he could not understand or defend against.


    She took all his attention away from the smaller lionesses and focused it on herself.


    The best way to fight them would be in a humanoid form, he would eliminate the small lionesses one by one, then transform into his original form to fight N¡¯bay¨¦. That was what he thought even though he was sure he couldn¡¯t actually beat N¡¯bay¨¦.


    What he failed or was too dumb to think about was that N¡¯bay¨¦ would remain in her lioness form through this fight. Therefore, she would be coming at him with her full might while still having the assistance of the eight other lionesses, while he can only defend himself with one-third of his power


    *HUFF HUFF HUFF!*


    The three-meter-tall rhino man breathed heavily, his grey shoulders rising and falling along with his broad chest.


    Smoke rose from his body and claw marks littered his back, creating a sorry sight.


    His head turned to the right, his eyes locked on a large lioness that prowled with murderous intent.


    Suddenly, he stretched out his hand to catch a purple blur. His hand gripped Ruda¡¯s neck with an iron grip and he squeezed.


    His arms felt numb from all the electricity that was rampaging through his veins but he refused to let go.


    He didn¡¯t have the chance to end Ruda as he caught a metal glint from the corner of his eyes.


    He quickly turned around, allowing the metal claws to land on his shoulders.


    The claws dug in and exited his muscles quickly, ripping some veins in the process. Very little blood flowed out but it was still painful.


    His left hand still gripped Ruda¡¯s neck and he waved his right hand to swat Zabita away.


    Amidst this distraction, he had taken his eyes off N¡¯bay¨¦ once again.


    Two blue magic circles appeared in the air beside N¡¯bay¨¦, then¡­


    *BOOM!*


    Two blue cannon balls were launched from the magic circles and made their way to the rhino man.


    Before he could even understand what was happening, the blue cannon balls hit his back with unholy force.


    He was forced to release Ruda as he was sent flying. He covered a few meters before rolling on the floor, his eyes brimming with anger.


    "DAMN YOU ALL!"


    He waved his hand fiercely, causing the earth to break apart and an arc of spikes to form around him.


    All these spikes were bent and pointed straight at N¡¯bay¨¦. With another wave of his hand, the spike shot off to their target.


    At this time, the rhino man arched his back and roared in pain, a look of fear in his eyes.


    Claw marks kept appearing all over his body, but he couldn¡¯t see or hear the attacker. This was what annoyed him and caused him to fear for the first time.


    All the spikes sent out hitvN¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s invisible barrier rapidly, causing a visible crack to appear in front of her. She didn¡¯t dwell on it though, instead, the look of confidence in her eyes became more apparent.


    She looked at the rhino man waving his arms around, looking for his invisible assailant.


    If that was the only thing, he wouldn¡¯t be feeling too overwhelmed, but there was a splitting headache he was having that made him want to scream in pain. He was seeing things that were not there, and finding it hard to concentrate.


    His eyes were dazed, confused about what direction he was swinging his arms in when a large lioness with bulging muscles jumped on him.


    Diane¡¯s long claws dug into his back as she bit his thick shoulder. Her sabertooth fangs pierced into his flesh and only stopped going in after encountering his shoulder bones.


    The rhino man screamed in a hoarse voice, his thick skin could not contend against the strength of this lioness at all.


    Reaching back, he grabbed Diane¡¯s neck and heaved, tearing her away from him and slamming her down in front of him. The ground cracked and Diane felt her strong bones almost give up on her.


    She rolled away, avoiding the incoming fist that ended up slamming the ground and creating a small crater.


    The rhino man stopped, clarity resuming its role in his eyes. This was a battle he wouldn¡¯t win, he could tell. His energy was low and he was tired.


    The battle he had expected to be drawn out ended up making him waste his energy for nothing.


    They had been fighting for so long yet he hadn¡¯t killed a single lioness. It wasn¡¯t like he was fighting against N¡¯bay¨¦ alone, he was fighting nine lionesses, eight since the chubby one was just watching from afar¡­


    "YOU!" He roared. Following that, his body began to twist and turn as his bones snapped and reassembled themselves.


    In an instant, he had transformed back to his original rhinoceros form. Without saying anything else, he charged straight for Olivia.


    "NOW!" N¡¯bay¨¦ shouted into their minds.


    Immediately, all eight lionesses chased after the rhino.


    In the rhino¡¯s eyes, Olivia the chubby lioness panicked, seeing a four-meter-tall beast coming at her with full speed.


    Then, she disappeared.


    The rhino¡¯s eyes widened as he didn¡¯t stop running. He had originally planned to crush Olivia to a meat pulp before escaping so that he could come back to fight another day.


    Even though he was confused about what happened, he didn¡¯t stop running.


    Meanwhile, Olivia appeared like a ghost beside Kael who was calmly watching all this. "You¡¯re lucky," That was all he said as the power of space calmed down around him.


    Only he knew how much energy he spent just now to save Olivia.


    The eight lionesses pursued the rhino until they left the duo¡¯s sight. They left behind a battlefield where almost all the trees had been destroyed.


    Kael could not help but adjust his evaluation of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s intelligence. From the moment the fight started, it was as if the rhino had played into her hands.


    It was like she had already prepared for everything and was only expecting the rhino to show up.


    "Let¡¯s follow them," He said before walking with Olivia who was still confused about what just happened.


    Two red foxes followed from behind, they had realized just how dangerous this mountain area was and felt it better to just stick close to the lions for now.


    At the same time, the rhino created earthen walls and pillars behind him as he ran at full speed.


    This indeed hindered the movement of the lionesses but they were cats, their agility made it easy for them to scale the walls and dodge the pillars.


    All this time, the rhino expended energy just to get away from the lionesses. He had already wasted a lot of energy when he was fighting them, now that he was in his rhino form, he was even expending more energy in a shorter amount of time.


    After a few minutes, he began to slow down, feeling exhausted. His ears twitched, and he could hear the footsteps of the lionesses getting closer.


    How could they still be chasing him? Weren¡¯t they also tired? Only N¡¯bay¨¦ should be able to chase after him at such speeds and still keep up.


    When the lionesses showed themselves, apart from N¡¯bay¨¦, the rest all had glowing runes on their backs. They looked tired but not as much as the rhino.


    They were getting closer and closer, causing the rhino to begin to feel dread. The world wasn¡¯t fair to him, he believed. He had only come for revenge after seeing an opportunity, why was he suddenly in this situation?


    Diane jumped onto his hind side and crawled up his back, followed by Ruda and Katari. They began clawing and biting his hard flesh relentlessly, soon making him roar in pain.


    His loud agonizing cry scared away all the animals nearby.


    A small magic circle appeared ahead and multiple red tongues stretched out from it to wrap around the rhino¡¯s leg.


    At the speed he was going, they couldn¡¯t stop him, but they managed to trip him.


    With a resounding boom, the rhino fell to the ground and slid across the forest floor. This gave the other lionesses time to catch up and jump on the rhino.


    By the time the rhino stood up, six lionesses were clinging to his back and N¡¯bay¨¦ used her claws to hold onto the shoulders while she bit fiercely at his neck.


    Nalii followed from behind, using vines to whip at the rhino¡¯s legs.


    The rhino had barely traveled one hundred meters before he collapsed to the ground again, no longer able to feel his body.


    The lionesses in his back had burnt, electrified, and clawed through all the layers of his skin to get to his spine before ruthlessly destroying it.


    Blood gushed out of his back and drenched the lionesses in red. They still didn¡¯t, they continued to dig into the rhino¡¯s back as though they were digging for treasure. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For the rhino, this absence of feeling was even more agonizing than the pain he experienced before. And he was also running out of breath¡­


    Just like that, the rhino closed its eyes for the last time as his heart stopped beating.


    Just then, Kael, Olivia, and the two foxes showed themselves. Kael had a greedy look in his eyes as he stared at the body of the rhino.


    ¡¯With this, I should be able to enter tier 3,¡¯

 Chapter 53: Schemes

    It was to be remembered that Kael had been in tier 2 since he was one year old. He could still remember that time after his transformation into a Primordial Lion was complete and his heart finally beat in the ¡¯correct¡¯ way.


    It was also at that time that he gave out his first contract to Katari. So he and Katari had roughly been tier two since they were one-year-old cubs.


    Now that he was approaching his fourth year as a lion, he felt like enough time had passed. He wanted to once again embrace that feeling of power, of progress, of advancement.


    N¡¯bay¨¦, with a bloody mouth, turned to look at Kael with a strange glint in her eyes.


    The fur on her body shrank into her skin as her muscles contracted and her bones snapped. Her paws became elongated and more slender and she stood in her two hind legs.


    Within moments, what stood before Kael and the others was a brown-skinned woman with glowing tattoos and a shaved head.


    Kael glanced at her provoking body before removing his eyes and resting them in the body of the rhino.


    He may lust for sex but he lusted for power more.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stuck her hand through the gash she had made in the rhino¡¯s neck. Her claws allowed her to dig deep into the body of the large beast.


    She brought out her hand along with some pieces of flesh before sticking her other one in. She continued doing this over and over again, ripping the flesh out of the rhino¡¯s body


    Kael watched curiously, wondering what she was doing while also paying attention to the lionesses that were eating into the back of the rhino from above.


    Soon, there was a bloody gaping hole that spread from the neck to the armpit, then from the armpit to the abdomen.


    The layers of flesh hung out like a red curtain to cover the grey surface of the rhino¡¯s body. The blood seemed to decorate the sight and the ribs in the background gave the picture a certain charm of savagery.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stuck her arm below the ribs, reaching for something inside. Whatever she was looking for probably couldn¡¯t be brought out with one hand so she began using her two hands.


    There was a ripping sound like wet paper being torn. Then N¡¯bay¨¦ brought out a big bloody heart.


    This heart was big, bigger than any heart Kael had ever seen. It was slightly bigger than his head.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stood up from her kneeling position, naked and covered in rhino blood while holding the non-beating heart with one hand.


    She looked straight at Kael who looked at her with intrigue in his eyes. Kael could see that that innocent but smart vibe was gone, all that was left was an indifferent look.


    That he didn¡¯t know what she was thinking would be a lie, but he wanted to see what decision she would make.


    It wasn¡¯t like he could stop her. She was a tier 3 lioness, with enough knowledge of magic that Kael was sure she was still hiding some tricks up her sleeves.


    Kael wasn¡¯t some mastermind that could hardcore plan ahead like N¡¯bay¨¦. He was still filled with flaws and he had to admit that even though he tried his best to see through her scheme, she still succeeded.


    He was sure that N¡¯bay¨¦ did not even put all her effort into fighting that rhino. Everything that happened did so with half effort because she had planned it and prepared for it long ago. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at Kael indifferently, she could feel the pain coming over her body from the treacherous thoughts that ran through her mind.


    She could conclude her scheme, right here, right now. Her next actions would determine how she would treat Kael from now on.


    She could give the heart to Kael, a heart that contained almost fifty percent of the rhino¡¯s energy upon death, a heart that once consumed would probably shoot Kael into an evolution process.


    Or she could keep it for herself. It would probably not help much for someone of her level but it was still something.


    If she gave it to Kael, it would help him evolve, but it would also narrow her chances of escaping from him if she later backs down from the contract within ten years.


    But if she takes the heart for herself, she would remove Kael¡¯s chances of evolving for a long while. She could even back out of the contract immediately so that she wouldn¡¯t be obligated to hunt a high-level creature for him.


    His chances of successfully hunting down another creature like the rhino with just his pride were very low.


    He could probably try consuming fifty animals with the same power level as him at once but that was easier said than done, literally.


    She had already gotten the knowledge she wanted from Kael. She had already gotten one of her enemies, the rhino, killed. Two of her main goals were checked off. All because of a scheme she came up with a few minutes after meeting Kael.


    All the while, Kael thought she was after just the knowledge. Perhaps, if Kael and his group had more to offer, the scheme would carry on.


    This was no different than killing with a borrowed knife.


    To give, or not to give. N¡¯bay¨¦ wondered the pros and cons of staying in the pride as she looked at the bloody heart.


    What N¡¯bay¨¦, in her seemingly infinite wisdom, was unaware of was that Katari had disappeared from the back of the rhino at some point.


    Right now, an invisible claw hovered a few inches away from N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s throat, ready to do as much damage as it could.


    Kael who was obviously aware of this acted calmly.


    The indifferent look in N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s eyes faded away as she finally considered something she hadn¡¯t considered before.


    Kael was a Primordial Lion, not just any lion that should be left alone. He had to succeed, he must succeed. For the sake of the lion race.


    As someone who tended to pick logic over emotion most of the time. She could tell what path would logically provide more benefits and meaning.


    With a dejected sigh, she placed the large bloody heart in front of Kael, like a village wife serving her husband food.


    The claw behind N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s neck drifted away and the look in Kael¡¯s eyes when looking at this tall woman became more genuine.


    Not saying anything more, he put one of his paws on the heart to prevent it from moving before he started tearing into it.


    He couldn¡¯t hold the animalistic desire that came over him any longer. Within a minute, the whole heart was eaten with nothing left.


    Kael licked his bloody mouth, feeling the rising amount of energy he was having. It was rising so fast that he felt like his head was going to explode.


    But the energy reached a particular point and then stopped. Kael felt like he was just at the very top of a cliff, he wanted to jump off but there was a stupid fence blocking his way.


    It felt really frustrating, so frustrating that it almost made him go crazy. He stared looking around with shrunken golden eyes.


    "It¡¯s not enough, he needs more." N¡¯bay¨¦, quickly recognizing what went wrong also looked around.


    Her eyes locked on the two foxes behind Kael before she hurriedly walked up to them.


    The foxes dared not run when they saw N¡¯bay¨¦ coming close to them. They could only shiver on the spot.l from fear.


    "You two, Kael needs energy to evolve unless this hunt would have been in vain. I need someone to provide us with that little boost left." She said to them telepathically.


    Vixy and Igor looked at each other, scared but also confused. "How are we supposed to help with that, miss N¡¯bay¨¦?" Vixy asked, feeling she might not like the answer.


    "One of you has to sacrifice yourself to be eaten. It¡¯s as simple as that." N¡¯bay¨¦ said calmly.


    "Wha¡­ How¡­ miss N¡¯bay¨¦" Vixy and Igor were struck speechless.


    "Don¡¯t think too much, all you have to do is pick out who to die. I¡¯ll count to three and you two will say who you want to die." N¡¯bay¨¦ said, not giving the duo any time to think properly.


    "One¡­Two¡­Three."


    "Me!"


    "Igor."


    The sound of flesh being ripped to shreds was the only thing that could be heard for a moment as Igor looked at Vixy, dumbfounded.


    He chose himself out of the emotions and didn¡¯t have time to think, he half expected Vixy to also choose herself, but she chose him instead.


    Vixy¡¯s eyes shook as N¡¯bay¨¦ grabbed Igor by the scruff of his neck. He was too stunned to react and N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t have time to let the drama sizzle down.


    She immediately threw Igor to Kael¡¯s front. As soon as Kael laid his eyes on Igor, he bit down like a ravenous beast.


    Igor could not fight back as it was too sudden. His head was ripped clean off his shoulders.


    The sickening crunching sounds bite into Vixy¡¯s ears, promising to haunt her for the rest of her life.


    Kael could feel that tipping point being finally reached. He felt high, like he was on a different planet altogether.


    Everything was happening way too fast, and then he collapsed.

 Chapter 54: Love is Illogical

    Before Kael collapsed, he subconsciously entered the memory plane of the eight Primordials again.


    The last thing he saw was N¡¯bay¨¦ looking over him and the lionesses rushing to his fallen body with worry in their eyes.


    Then, everything went dark.


    #####


    .


    .


    .


    The Cosmos, as infinite as it was, never lacked its sense of beauty. Wherever one looked, stars decorated the void, and nebula clouds splashed their colors across the darkness.


    It was quiet, a silence that wasn¡¯t deafening. With no point of direction, there was no up or down, no left or right. Just a destination and a path to follow.


    Amongst the stars, an object flew gracefully.


    The object was big, almost the size of a moon, and shaped like an oval. The end was forged to take on the appearance of a whale¡¯s tail.


    Its metallic surface was dotted with lights and silver protrusions. Truly, it was a majestic vessel, one that would usually be called a spaceship.


    Behind this so-called spaceship, space seemed to contract and expand rapidly while at the front, the same was happening. Only that at the front, space was shrinking more than it was expanding while at the back, it was expanding more than it was shrinking.


    The shrinking and expansion of space around the spaceship caused it to move at a speed light could not keep up with. Within seconds, it had crossed a star system and was heading for the next.


    This action could only be described as magical, and indeed it was. The magic runes that could be found lining the edges and gaps of the vessel were proof of the nature of its maker.


    Within this spaceship, inside a spacious hall. Multiple humanoid figures could be seen walking to and fro, busy with one thing or the other.


    All of them had bat-like wings on their backs and horns adorning their heads. Some had curved horns like a goat, others had one singular horn on their forehead like a rhino, and some had antlers. The majority of them had two simple pointy horns.


    A common characteristic among these people would be their tall bodies and the scales that covered some parts of their bodies.


    At the end of the hall, a large curved screen faced them, stretching from one wall to the other.


    On the screen were numbers and images, analytics on the spaceship¡¯s body, and other interesting data. Three-dimensional images would sometimes pop out of the screens, allowing the dragon-like people below to interact with the data on a deeper level.


    Beneath the screen, a wide pad that covered the entire base floated a few feet off the ground. This pad had multiple screens and keypads that allowed the numerous dragon-like people to manipulate what happened on the large screen.


    Magic runes were arranged on the pad and sharp claws tapped tirelessly on them, like the keypads they were.


    Close to the people who were operating on the dashboard, a young-looking woman stood with her arms kept close to her chest.


    She was different from the other people in this room. She had bright golden hair that flowed down to her waist and a beautiful face that matched well.


    Her golden eyebrows were sharp like swords and her black and gold eyes were fixed on the large screen.


    Her dress was white, flowing down to sweep the metal floor. The sleeves and waistline were adorned with black curvy lines, adding to the beauty and aura of the woman.


    The dragon-like people would occasionally glance at her, with different expressions on their faces as well as different thoughts going through their heads.


    Some looked at her with envy, especially the females. Some looked at her with curiosity, and some with contempt.


    Just then, the two large doors at the other end of the hallway slid into the walls and a man walked into the hall.


    This man was tall, nearly seven feet, and the two armored guards beside him were taller.


    Their armor was black and covered all parts of their body. Their black wings were folded neatly behind them as if they were afraid of touching the man in the middle.


    The man in the middle on the other hand was slim, compared to the bulky figures of his bodyguards.


    His horns were black and curvy and they pointed upwards. The scales that covered his open chest and cheeks were as green as a verdant garden. His hair, an inky black that dropped to his shoulders, had a faint green color at the ends.


    His clothes were loose, nothing more than a simple red robe that exposed his scaled chest.


    His beautiful green eyes locked on the golden-haired woman who stood afar. Without a second thought, he walked briskly to her with a playful smile on his face.


    The woman, hearing the footsteps that were all too familiar to her, could not help but smile too, although she refrained from turning around to see the man who was approaching her.


    The green-scaled man arrived behind the woman, his arms wrapped around her small waist while his breath scraped her ears. Instantly, the woman¡¯s face brightened with a red hue as she felt her body heat up.


    Both of them were apparently the same height as their heads were resting next to each other and they could see each other¡¯s faces from the corner of their eyes.


    "My love." The scaled man whispered into her ear, his voice deep, and caused her skin to vibrate.


    "Yes, Sakan," The golden-haired woman replied. She held the hands that still wrapped around her waist, not pushing it away, but ensuring that it stuck to her, like a belt.


    The black armored bodyguards stood a few meters behind, not daring to intrude on their master¡¯s personal space at this time.


    The dragon-like people who went back and forth would glance at the duo from the corner of their eyes. The jealousy within the women only seemed to build up as they looked at this scene, only for their pent-up frustration to disappear after they released a silent sigh.


    "Soon, we¡¯ll be home, away from all those who are against our union." Sakan proclaimed. "Derylia, I promised to take us away from all the nonsense of our backgrounds, here we are."


    Hearing his words, Derylia, the seventh Primordial Lion, revealed a sad expression. Her eyelids closed halfway and her shoulders dropped.


    "If only they could accept us like this, what we feel for each other, can¡¯t they see it beyond their petty skirmishes?" Derylia said out loud.


    Sakan sighed, "There¡¯s a level of power people reach that makes the whole concept of love almost insignificant to them.


    For those high and mighty elder ones, our love means nothing to them, all they see is you staining the ego of the lions and the dragons." He said, a brief feeling of insecurity flashing through his eyes.


    Derylia shook her head, "I didn¡¯t ask to be born as a Primordial lioness, I didn¡¯t ask for any of those responsibilities. No one asked me if I was okay with carrying the fate of the lion race on my own.


    I would gladly transfer this Primordial status away if it meant I would get to be with you forever."


    Sakan chuckled at her words, his eyes also stared at the screen, looking at a particular image of the void they were traveling through. Based on what he was seeing, they would soon reach their destination, only then would ¡¯they¡¯ be free.


    "A lot of my friends¡­ My former friends have told me that my ability to think logically has been hindered because I focus too much on my emotions¡­


    They still hope that I can somehow ¡¯come back¡¯ to my senses." As he said this, he shifted his hands to Derylia¡¯s belly.


    He could feel the faint flickering life force, like a candle that had just been lit. This life force was unique, a blend between his dragon heritage and Derylia¡¯s.


    As creatures who were both known to possess immense pride and ego, what could a merger between the two races become?


    At the same time, he could feel the pressure they were going to face for bringing this unique universal anomaly into existence.


    Feeling Sakan¡¯s hand on her belly and feeling the growing life in her womb, Derylia could not help but smile, her gaze filled with expectations.


    "Perhaps, they are wrong, perhaps they are right. But it¡¯s too late for any of us to turn to logic now. Love is illogical in its own nature, trying to make sense of it and the actions it causes is pointless.


    Our love is a cause, not an effect. It¡¯s a reason, not a result. The moment they understand that, they might find love themselves." Derylia said.


    "Hahaha, because of us, they have all avoided the idea of love like it¡¯s a plague. I doubt they will be falling in love anytime soon." Sakan laughed.


    Derylia also laughed at her lover¡¯s words. She wished deeply for things to be the way it was forever, but with her experience, she knew it wouldn¡¯t be so.


    Just as she said, their love wasn¡¯t an effect, it was a cause. It wasn¡¯t a result, it was a reason.


    Sooner or later, the effects and results of their love will catch up with them. The consequences of their union were dire and whether she would be able to face it with Sakan was unknown.


    S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 55: Your Majesty

    As Kael woke up, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was to cold black stone floor.


    The light from the entrance of the cave coupled with the multiple rune markings on the walls lit up the interior of the cave.


    The cave was currently empty with sounds of movement coming from outside.


    The dizziness Kael felt slowly faded away as clarity washed over his conciseness. He stood up from his lying position, immediately noticing that things were a bit different.


    As he looked down, he noticed that the distance between his head and the ground was longer than before, it had increased, and it wasn¡¯t by a small margin.


    Everything in the cave looked like it had shrunk by a couple of factors, including the rune markings.


    He raised one of his front paws up to take a step forward. Immediately, he paused out of caution.


    He could feel the unbridled power coursing through his limbs like dam water that had just been released. He could feel that if he didn¡¯t control it, the result wouldn¡¯t be funny.


    With vigilance, he gently took one step forward. As his paws pressed upon the cold stone ground, his golden claws involuntarily came out.


    As they scraped the stone floor, they pierced into it, creating small cracks around the claws¡¯ tips.


    Kael didn¡¯t feel any resistance as his claws sank into the ground. It felt like they had pierced marshmallows.


    He took another step, this time more controlled. His claws didn¡¯t sink into the ground again and his paws held firm.


    As Kael made his way to one of the runes on the wall, he could estimate how tall he had grown.


    Before now, he could look straight at these rune markings without raising his head or bringing it down. Now he was bending his head as he was ahd down to see the rune markings.


    His golden eyes revealed a thoughtful glint as they reflected the magic runes.


    He continued walking toward the cave entrance, a h of his steps leaving a deep thud sound as he moved.


    Katari, who was closest to the cave entrance at this time heard the resounding footsteps coming from the depths of the cave.


    From the very faint tremor she could feel from the ground, Katari could tell that what was walking out of the dim cave had a lot of weight.


    And from the scent that wafted through her nose, she immediately knew who the owner of the footsteps was. After all, she had diligently watched over him for the past months.


    Her eyes revealed her eagerness and desire as the golden figure started getting closer to the cave entrance.


    "Large." Was what came to her mind as the figure stepped out of the cave. And at this moment, apart from desire, a feeling of dread came over her.


    Kael looked down at the body of this ¡¯little¡¯ lioness before him. Instantly, he recognized her as Katari.


    From Katari¡¯s standpoint, he estimated that he was close to six feet tall or more from shoulder to foot. He couldn¡¯t really tell at this point cause Katari wasn¡¯t a normal-sized lion herself.


    "Hello Katari," Kael said, breaking the lioness out of her stunned state.


    "Your Majesty!" Katari said as she immediately took a bow, seeing it fit to do so in the presence of this being.


    Before her stood a majestic golden lion of immense size, almost double her size if not more than. His limbs were like ancient pillars used to support the heavens, they moved with raw strength and vigor.


    His paws were wide enough that they would cover Katari¡¯s entire face.


    His tail was as long as his body, swishing around with the dark gold tuft of hair at the end.


    On his neck, head, and shoulders, a dark and fluffy mane wrapped around with a darker shade of gold.


    His eyes were like two white orbs with gold rings and a black dot in the center.


    The aura he emitted was one of regality and royalty.


    "Your Majesty?" Kael asked, his voice had taken a deeper tone like he was more matured.


    "That is how kings are referred to in lion clans, your Majesty," Katari said, her head still bowed.


    "Hmm, did N¡¯bay¨¦ tell you this? We aren¡¯t a lion clan yet though," Kael said, even though he actually liked being referred to like that. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "It¡¯s just a matter of time, your Majesty, we might as well begin now," Katari said, a level of boldness overcoming her for a moment before retracting and leaving her embarrassed.


    "Where are the rest?" Kael ignored Katari¡¯s statement for now.


    "They are out hunting, N¡¯bay¨¦ said that you could wake up at any moment and you would be very hungry when you do so."


    Hearing this, Kael¡¯s stomach grumbled as if to confirm Katari¡¯s words.


    "How long has it been?" He asked.


    "According to N¡¯bay¨¦, today would be the one hundred and eightieth day," Katari answered.


    "So six months huh?" Kael¡¯s brain processed the information quickly, the dormant power within him made him act calm and collected, or else he could break something accidentally.


    "I¡¯ll wait for them," Kael said and sat down, appreciating the afternoon breeze.


    He could see that the trees from the fight with the rhino hadn¡¯t yet recovered. The area in front of the cave was mostly devoid of trees at this moment.


    Soon, the remaining lionesses came back with a large stag being dragged by Diane and Zabita.


    The stag had brown fur with some green first mixing in here and there. Its antlers were large and had vines wrapped around it. The carcass shared a similar aura with Nalii.


    And speaking of Nalii, her horns had grown fully, looking like a mix between antlers and regular horns. They were black and had green lines etched in them.


    As soon as they saw Kael¡¯s large golden body sitting at the entrance of the cave, they were stunned.


    They had been watching him grow all this time but he was sleeping and lying down in the process. Now that he was up, he looked bigger and way more imposing.


    When Kael¡¯s eyes landed on each of them, they could not help but shiver. The only one who was relatively calm was N¡¯bay¨¦.


    "Congratulations Kael¡­"


    "Congratulations your Majesty¡­"


    "Welcome back your Majesty¡­"


    ¡­


    One after another, they said their greetings, to which Kael simply nodded.


    "How have you all been?" He finally asked, a more humane smile coming up his face.


    N¡¯bay¨¦, who was closer to Kael spoke, "We¡¯ve been fine. Some of our neighbors tried to bother us while you were evolving but we handled it and chased them away.


    Unfortunately, we couldn¡¯t kill anyone of them, not all are as dumb as the rhino after all,"


    N¡¯bay¨¦ found that she had to look up to Kael slightly, which really puzzled her. Didn¡¯t this mean that Kael was even bigger than her?


    "Did your evolution take this long?" Kael asked with worry. He remembered that when he was transitioning into a Primordial Lion at the beginning, it took him a full year for the evolution to complete.


    And that was because he forced his heart to start beating the way it was supposed to, if not it would have taken longer.


    But the evolution of Katari and the other lionesses after awakening their own lionhearts had happened within a few minutes.


    "No, mine look slightly less than a month. But you¡¯re a Primordial Lion, your evolutions wouldn¡¯t be normal anytime soon." N¡¯bay¨¦ said with a smile on her furred face.


    "Hmm," Kael didn¡¯t say anything about it again as he set his eyes on the dead stag, his stomach grumbling for food. How he had gone six months without eating anything was a mystery.


    Diane quickly dragged the dead stag to Kael who immediately dug in. He ripped the chest open and easily broke the ribs as if it was made of mud, only when he had eaten the heart did he start eating other body parts.


    The energy he got was like a drop in a vast lake that was ever so slowly drying up.


    By the time Kael was full, all that was left was the neck, head, and some intestines.


    "We¡¯ll go and hunt more if you want," Katari offered. Kael noticed that all of them were acting extra respectful to him because of the aura. Not that they weren¡¯t respectful before though.


    Kael shook his head, "No, you guys should get something for yourself. I want some alone time with N¡¯bay¨¦."


    The moment his sentence ended, a strange expression appeared on all of their faces. Why was this the first thing he requested after waking up?


    Kael didn¡¯t pay heed to their thoughts, he got up and walked back into the cave.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ tried to guess what Kael wanted and she felt that she knew but she didn¡¯t think too much about it. With a calm resolve, she followed Kael into the cave.


    If Kael had stayed longer, he would have seen Katari¡¯s eyes become a bit watery before she quickly closed them. When she opened them again, they were filled with fake indifference, something she learned from N¡¯bay¨¦ after being with her for the last six months.


    "Should we go?" Priya asked with a complicated feeling arising in her heart.


    "Aren¡¯t you guys hungry?" Nalii asked, trying to change the subject but she was bad at it.


    "I don¡¯t know about you guys but I¡¯m actually hungry," Olivia said what was truly on her mind.


    "*Sigh* let¡¯s go," Katari said, unable to hide the disappointment in her heart.


    They all turned away to leave Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ alone in the cave.


    Meanwhile in the cave.


    After the duo heard the sound of the lionesses walking away, a glimmer of lust appeared in Kael¡¯s eyes as he looked at N¡¯bay¨¦.


    "So," He began. "Firstly I want to know how you transform into a humanoid form."

 Chapter 56: Heated Up

    "How do you transform into your humanoid form?" Kael asked, intrigue coloring his face.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ tilted her head, "It¡¯s kind of instinctive. Like, if I try to imagine myself limiting my powers, I automatically transform."


    "Oh, I see." Kael said, with a look of interest in his eyes, "Can you demonstrate?"


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s heart shook, but she didn¡¯t know why. The way Kael was looking at her and the way he asked that question filled her with trepidation.


    If it was before, no matter how Kael looked at her, she would only be a little bit disturbed, but now I was as if his eyes alone carried an invisible piercing power.


    "Oh¡­Okay." N¡¯bay¨¦ said before initiating her transformation. Her bones snapped and shifted within her body as her hair shrunk inwards, revealing beautiful brown skin.


    Soon, N¡¯bay¨¦ stood in front of Kael, naked. Kael eyed her up to down, fully appreciating this specimen. Who would have thought that he would get the opportunity to fully enjoy this picture not long after he met a tier 3 lioness?


    "Okay, I¡¯ll try now," Kael said. In truth, he already knew how to transform into a humanoid form, it was an instinctive process, just as N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    He only asked her to further his own agenda.


    As soon as Kael tapped into that strange limiting feeling, his body began to change. It felt like he was trying to lock some of his powers away in a tight fortress and leave a small opening for it to flow out slowly.


    Pain Kael had never felt before consumed his body. His mane began to shrink into his body as well as his fur. His limbs twisted and turned as the bones within them broke down, fractured, and dislocated, before reattaching themselves to new joints.


    His protruding about of his lion face forced itself into his face and a sharp jawline began forming. His shoulders expanded and his waist decreased in size


    Kael¡¯s body shivered as he gritted his teeth through the pain, not making one sound at all.


    After a few minutes of gradual metamorphosis, before N¡¯bay¨¦ stood a tall man. This man had a fantastic face, one that was handsome from every corner it was looked at.


    His golden hair was straight and touched the top of his shoulders. He had a sharp and pointy hairline that complimented his powerful forehead.


    His face was beautified by the powerful jawline that was so sharp, it seemed it could cut anything.


    A small amount of golden beards covered the area around his mouth, giving him a more manly and regal appearance.


    Beneath his deep blonde eyebrows, golden irises stared intently at N¡¯bay¨¦, his eyes boring into hers.


    The nostrils of his arrow-shaped nose flared as he took in the scent from a new perspective.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stood at around six feet in height, considerably tall for a lot of human women. But she still had to look up to Kael as he took a step closer to her.


    Kael could see the rune drawn on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s shaved head clearly. He briefly glanced at it before he looked into her eyes again.


    "How do I look?" Kael asked telepathically with a smirk on his face. He didn¡¯t bother to observe himself with his eyes as the way he could feel almost every part of his body was far better.


    "You look g-good," For someone who wasn¡¯t used to Humanoid faces, N¡¯bay¨¦ really didn¡¯t know how to rate Kael¡¯s appearance.


    "Your runes?" Kael asked.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ was somehow finding it hard to breathe as Kael¡¯s voice entered her head. "W-what about it?" She asked, flustered.


    She didn¡¯t know she was capable of stammering with telepathy until today.


    "Can you draw mine?" He asked.


    "Now?" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s eyes narrowed, assuming all possibilities to happen next.


    "Yes, right here," Kael brought his veiny hand up as he pointed to his chest. "Right here." His index finger landed on the center of his chest.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ found Kael¡¯s voice compelling as she found herself absentmindedly bringing her hand up to Kael¡¯s chest until she was touching that same point that Kael was touching.


    A tingling feeling spread through Kael¡¯s body as he felt the touch that was a mixture of cold and warmth.


    Seeing a brief show of Kael¡¯s reaction and vulnerability, N¡¯bay¨¦ got bolder. Her finger lit up with a green light as she began to draw a strange symbol on his chest.


    The symbol was circular with a triangle in the middle, however, it disappeared soon after it was drawn. The rune symbols were not precise and the light flickered multiple times before going off.


    As N¡¯bay¨¦ kept drawing, she found it harder and harder to concentrate and her fingers began to shake. Her breathing became heavy as she could feel the heated gaze coming from Kael.


    She couldn¡¯t help but look up, only to see two golden eyes staring down at her with such intensity that she had never seen before. Kael¡¯s aura became more heated and his tanned body started having a temperature spike.


    "It¡¯s been long," Kael muttered, this time with his physical mouth.


    Before she could ask what his words meant, her lips were sealed with a passionate kiss.


    This action was so strange to her, lip locking, yet it made her whole body heat up as she leaned into Kael¡¯s body.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ went ahead with the flow, mimicking Kael¡¯s actions and kissing back. The way she moved her mouth was sloppy and Kael finally remembered that this wasn¡¯t a human who knew what a kiss was.


    Next thing N¡¯bay¨¦ knew, her thick thighs were grabbed by Kael¡¯s strong hands as he moved to the nearest wall.


    As Kael pressed her back against the wall, she involuntarily wrapped her arms around his shoulders to hang on.


    His hand moved to her two average-sized breasts. He fondled them, pinching and twisting the nipples, earning him a silent moan from N¡¯bay¨¦. Even N¡¯bay¨¦ was shocked at the type of sound she was making.


    Kael brought his head lower, allowing him to suck aggressively on her breast while his hand fondled the other one.


    He pressed his waist to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s pelvis, sensually rubbing his penis on her vagina. He could feel a wetness coming from down there, surely, N¡¯bay¨¦ had never experienced this before and she had no related form of self-control to even think of resisting.


    All she knew at this point was that her hole thirsted to be filled up immediately.


    Not wasting time, Kael looked down so that he could align his lion rod with N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s vagina entrance.


    As if to enjoy the feeling of his lion rod being wrapped by something warm and wet, he let it slide in slowly.


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s claws dug into Kael¡¯s back as she was overwhelmed by the strange mix of pain and pleasure for the first time.


    Kael didn¡¯t tell her that he would be gentle, he didn¡¯t assure her that the pain would disappear slowly, he didn¡¯t say any sweet words to her.


    There was no need, she didn¡¯t know she would want something so bad until she had it for the first time. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Kael picked up pace, pulling out and thrusting back in at a rhythmic pace, N¡¯bay¨¦ wrapped her legs around him, hugging him like a koala. She felt so much pleasure and she wasn¡¯t willing to let go.


    She arched her head back and released a sensual moan as Kael got faster and faster. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh echoed in the empty cave along with N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s moans and Kael¡¯s grunts.


    Kael would sometimes silence N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s moans by kissing her which just seemed to turn her on the more.


    This back-and-forth movement went on for close to an hour, surprising even Kael, before he felt himself reach his climax.


    "Uh!," He grunted in the most english way possible as he pressed his pelvis against hers, allowing his long lion rod to burrow deeper into N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s hole.


    He finally released a stream of sperm into N¡¯bay¨¦ as his body relaxed. N¡¯bay¨¦ had her legs shaking uncontrollably and her eyes closed tightly.


    When she opened her eyes again, she kissed Kael passionately. For a moment, all logical reasoning that she stood for disappeared with that large penis still inside her.


    After they both caught their breath, Kael said telepathically. "Time for round two."


    He pulled his lion rod out of her, letting her feet to finally touch the ground. She was still confused about what Kael planned to do when he turned her around, allowing her hands to touch the walls.


    He pulled on her waist, setting her bubbly butt to shoot outward. Without waiting for confirmation if she was ready, he thrust in, shoving his way beyond-average penis into her hole.


    There was a sort of irony in the fact that two big cats in human form were engaging in the doggy sex style.


    Kael pounded on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s ass relentlessly, causing her brown bubbly butt to have ripple-like movements. She moaned loudly, bordering on screaming.


    Kael had one hand on the back of her neck, holding it firmly and a bit aggressively, while his other hand squeezed her breasts.


    They went back and forth repeatedly with Kael holding onto N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s waist as he rammed her thoroughly from behind.


    Hours had passed when the lionesses finally returned, only to hear strange noises coming from the cave.

 Chapter 57: To Kill With A Borrowed Claw

    Kael lay on the ground next to the wall inside the cave, his back resting on the cold hard floor and his arm wrapped around N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s form.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ rested beside him with her head on Kael¡¯s broad chest. Her fingers drew circles on his abs, going up and down like a sheep skipping hills.


    "Thank you," N¡¯bay¨¦ said telepathically, feeling quite exhausted.


    "For what?" Kael asked with one of his eyebrows raised.


    "For what you did to me. It made me feel¡­ good." N¡¯bay¨¦ had no sense of shyness as she uttered those words.


    Kael chuckled, "Don¡¯t worry, I also enjoyed it."


    They rested like that for some time, they could both hear the movements coming from outside but they chose to ignore it for now.


    "Now that you¡¯re a tier 3, what are we going to do?" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s face resumed its normal expression. The few hours of bliss still remained in her mind but it was time she thought about the future.


    "What have you been doing for the past six months?" Kael asked taking a more serious approach.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ sat up to respond, "Regular hunting and resting. Some of our neighbors disturbed us but we couldn¡¯t kill any of them. With just me as the only tier 3 at that time, killing any other creature of similar power level was very difficult.


    Now that you¡¯re awake, maybe we can stand a chance of clearing up the mountain."


    Kael thought about it in silence. Now that he was a tier 3, a lot of his passive powers were more pronounced. The intellectual prowess of the magus lions and the spirit lions was already making itself known.


    "We could do that, or we could take a more thorough approach," Kael said as his eyes flashed with a dangerous level of intelligence.


    He sat up and rested his back on the wall. "I don¡¯t plan on entertaining any possibilities of losing from now on. If we are to do things from now on, it must be detailed and to the point.


    We must make plans before we take any action and we must have contingency plans just in case." Kael didn¡¯t state this like he was making a request, more like he was giving out an order.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t see anything wrong with what she said, in fact, she resonated with it well. After all, she was the type to make a lot of plans before doing anything so Kael¡¯s words seemed very okay to her.


    "That¡¯s good," She said, "Our chances of successfully defeating one of our neighbors with you around us are high, but it¡¯s not absolutely certain.


    If we want to increase our chances of success, we should make some other plans. What do you suggest?"


    Kael brainstormed, his now enhanced memory retention ability allowing him to recall more foggy and insignificant pieces of his previous life.


    He remembered one particular phrase he heard on time from a colleague at work. This particular colleague was prone to corporate politics and very manipulative, like most high achievers in the business world.


    Because Kael didn¡¯t seem to have any ambition or desire for upward mobility, he was never seen as a threat and therefore seen as a confidant.


    The colleague always felt comfortable sharing some of his thoughts with Kael because he knew Kael would probably never use them against him, and he was right.


    One of the things this colleague would always talk about was the strategy of killing with a borrowed sword.


    It was simply the act of using someone else¡¯s strength to achieve his goals. This strategy was used in so many ways, that Kael had watched it play out in front of his own eyes.


    "We can kill with a borrowed claw, we don¡¯t necessarily have to be the ones to dirty our hands with the act of killing these guys.


    We are royalty, after all, others should be doing it for us."


    As Kael spoke, his aura began building up and as he sat there, he gave off the vibe of a king without a kingdom.


    "Hmm, that¡¯s true. Our chances of winning will be higher if we involve someone else. Especially if we involve someone that is not already on the mountain." N¡¯bay¨¦ said, quickly understanding the direction Kael wished to go in.


    "What forces in the forest are suitable for this plan," Kael asked.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ thought for a moment before answering, "Well, among the many, I would suggest the wolves and the spiders.


    The wolves because of their social structure and their combat abilities, are suitable for warrior roles. Their pack dynamic is somehow similar to our pride structure but also somehow different.


    The spiders are not that social but they remain connected. Every spider with an awakened heart has a special web-like ability that allows them to create interconnected webways without actually touching each other.


    It is said that all spiders can use these special webs to communicate over large distances and all webs are connected to the main web deep underground in their mega nest.


    If we want the wolves, we could get their strong combat abilities. If we go for the spiders, we could take advantage of their intelligence gathering and their communication abilities."


    As Kael listened to N¡¯bay¨¦, he began drawing up a rough scheme with wolves or spiders in them.


    "We¡¯ll work on both groups then." He said.


    Hearing this, a complicated expression appeared on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s face. "I forgot that you¡¯ve not been a resident of the forest for a long time so you don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, the spiders and the wolves are currently not on good terms. Actually, they are just a few decisions away from turning the whole forest into a battlefield."


    Kael looked at her, curious, "How? What happened?"


    "Well, many months ago, the spiders with awakened Hearts began attacking almost all creatures in the forest. Killing a lot of them in the process.


    Many of us guessed that the reason for their sudden attack was a statement, telling the forest that they had a new powerhouse backing them.


    There has been no way to confirm this as we don¡¯t know how powerful the strongest spider is as they are not as open as the wolves. The strongest I have ever seen from them is a power level similar to a tier 3 lion.


    The spiders may have attacked everybody but the wolves were the ones who took it extra personally.


    The strongest packs in the forest are led by three tier 3 wolves similar to us in power level.


    All three lead the small packs and have already formed wolf clans. Each of them have varying degrees of hostility towards the spiders though."


    "Hmm, which of them is the least active?" Kael asked.


    "That would be the Bibi clan, led by Bibi III (The third).


    They are actually very hostile to the spiders, a kill-on-sight attitude if I must say, but compared to the other wolves, they are pretty peaceful.


    They are also of average size, not being the biggest or the smallest.


    It would be good if we met the Bibi clan first as Bibi II, Bibi III¡¯s father had died here in this mountain. At least, that¡¯s what I heard.


    The Bibi clan at that time had wanted to take over the entire mountain with his clan but had been stopped by the neighbors.


    " N¡¯bay¨¦ said after some thoughts.


    "Then we¡¯ll go for the Bibi wolves first. This doesn¡¯t mean we will be giving up on the spiders, sooner or later, everyone in this forest will have to bow to me, including the spiders." Kael decided.


    *****


    Outside the cave, seven lionesses lay around under the evening sky while one lioness pranced to and from at the entrance of the mountain.


    Nalii looked worriedly at Katari who was walking from one edge to another with a troubled and confused expression on her face.


    Katari¡¯s eyes darted left and right and her thoughts were complex. She thought about Kael, she thought about herself, and she thought about N¡¯bay¨¦.


    ¡¯...is it because she is¡­ stronger than me?¡¯ Katari wondered. If anyone looked at her eyes right now, they would notice it getting red, as if she was trying too hard to prevent herself from crying.


    ¡¯No¡­ I was with him first.¡¯ Even her inner voice shook with trepidation, a testament to the uneasiness she felt.


    ¡¯Yes¡­I was with him first, I¡­was¡­here first. He loves me even though I¡¯m not strong enough.¡¯ She tried to comfort herself as her heart broke down into pieces.


    ¡¯No, I must do something, I must.¡¯ As she thought in this direction, her eyes revealed a hint of craziness. This wasn¡¯t the playful craziness that Ruda usually showed, this was much darker and violent.


    But as soon as it came, it disappeared. Katari¡¯s accidental introspection in her life caused her to rethink her actions. Following this was a wave of sadness that threatened to crush Katari and send her into a spiral of depression.


    Just then, her ears twitched as she heard footsteps coming from the cave. With a speed that her body could barely handle, she turned to see two tall figures walking out of the cave.


    One was a tall brown-skinned female humanoid. The other was also tall, but more masculine with light-tanned skin and a somewhat curly body.


    As soon as Kael stepped out of the cave, his golden eyes locked on Katari¡¯s reddened eyes.

 Chapter 58: Get Stronger And Find Out

    "Katari, is anything wrong?" Kael asked as he saw the oddities in her eyes.


    Katari, who had been lost in Kael¡¯s eyes, quickly snapped out of it, "No, nothing is wrong." She then looked at N¡¯bay¨¦ who acted like nothing was happening, glancing to the side in a nonchalant manner.


    "Where is Vixy?" Kael asked, he looked around and could not find the red fox. He remembered that just before he went into that long slumber, he had viciously devoured Igor, Vixy¡¯s mate.


    Although he had heard the conversation that led to such circumstances, he wasn¡¯t aware of what happened afterward.


    "We let her go, we told her to look out to make sure she meets us as soon as she hears that you have woken up," Katari answered.


    At this time, the lionesses had gathered around, observing Kael¡¯s humanoid figure.


    His face was unique, one that they could remember easily. The golden hair and beard matched with his golden lion tail that involuntarily swished about behind him.


    On his pelvis area, there were some dried-up stains that gave off a funny smell. These dried-up stains were also on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s body.


    "How did she react to me killing Igor," Kael asked. It was important for him to know if there were some hidden grievances among his acquaintances.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ decided to answer this time, "She was stomped, surprised, shocked. She didn¡¯t expect Igor to choose himself and felt guilty for her selfishness.


    I explained to her that she was the cause of Igor¡¯s death and made sure to drum it into her head. But I also made it clear that if she had not chosen him, he would be alive while she was dead.


    She did not put any blame on us but I suspect that is because she is afraid to do so. On one hand, she hates us, on the other hand, she hates herself.


    I only let her go because I felt she might still be of use to us in the future. However, it would be wise to expect her revenge at some point."


    Hearing this, Kael nodded. Indeed, Vixy still had use, he would have preferred for both she and Igor to be alive but it couldn¡¯t be so. He needed the energy at that time.


    "Let¡¯s head to the river first," Kael stated as he began walking away in his human form. He had no desire to change back to his lion form anytime soon for now, he still needed to test out his enhanced powers.


    The lionesses did not say anything, silently noting the change of manner that Kael now had.


    To walk in human form felt so natural to Kael, yet so unnatural. He wasn¡¯t as comfortable as he thought he would be.


    For him, his lion form was more natural to him, more flexible, more powerful. Compared to that, the human form felt so restricting. He couldn¡¯t bring out a satisfactory output of power even if he wanted to, he could feel it.


    But this was the reason the Humanoid Form was so cherished. A way to manage the expenditure of energy.


    Soon, they arrived at the river close to the mountain. Just as the foxes had said earlier, this mountain was close to a water source and this water source was just west of the mountainside, just a few minutes of walk.


    The river bed was clear and wet, and a few trees grew ske meters away from the water.


    This river wasn¡¯t the same large one they had followed to arrive at the forest. Instead, this was one of the rivers that had branched off from the main one.


    Kael stared down at his reflection in the water. He looked nothing like his human self on earth. The face he was looking at was completely foreign to him, but this was his human face now.


    Leaning forward, he could see his broad muscled chest, his abs, his large biceps, his powerful thighs, and his large lion rod.


    "Wow," He couldn¡¯t help but say. By Earth¡¯s standards, he would be considered perfect. His muscular form was not too much to the extent it looked grotesque, but it still made him burly.


    He estimated his height to be close to seven feet if not exactly seven feet. This was better than the rhino man who was about ten feet tall in his humanoid form. After all, if he was too tall, how was he going to interact intimately with his lionesses?


    One of his legs descended into the flowing water, allowing him to feel the coolness of the river.


    He went into the center of the river, where it was the deepest. At this point, his legs up to his waist were beneath the water.


    The lionesses also used this opportunity to also wash themselves. Something that Kael would have found disgusting a long time ago was the act of drinking water from the same place he washed himself. Alas, that was long ago.


    Kael brought his arm up, activating one of the powers he had, the power he had gotten from Eidel.


    A small glowing dot appeared above his outstretched palm, growing bigger with the rise in temperature.


    The glowing dot grew to become a ball of fire the size of his fist. This small ball of fire was so hot that the water around him began evaporating, filling his surroundings with steam.


    But Kael wasn¡¯t done experimenting, the ball of fire grew to be the size of a head. By now, the water was practically boiling as Kael could feel himself cooking under the terrifying moist heat.


    He had compressed so much power into it that a very weak gravitational field made itself known. It was so weak that Kael would not have noticed it if he was not the source of the fireball.


    ¡¯My powers are enhanced, but I¡¯m only as skillful as they are. This, at the end of the day, is not my original power.¡¯ Kael wondered to himself.


    Now that he was tier 3, all his powers were enhanced exponentially. But that was all, no new tricks or techniques.


    It was just like how he would not be able to teleport if Katari had not discovered minor teleportation. He wasn¡¯t a space lion, he was a Primordial Lion who shared the power of a space lion, there was a difference.


    Since he shared the powers with them, he could only wait for them to get better and unlock more innate abilities related to their lionheart type.


    The good thing was that they did not share the same energy reserves. The energy Kael used to activate the powers was his alone. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The bad thing was that if there ever came a day that the lionesses for some unlikely reason, left the pride, Kael would also lose the powers.


    Every advantage had its disadvantages, Kael could not have his cake and eat it full, not now. It was better for him to be aware of the flaws that the Primordial laws came with.


    Suddenly, the ball of fire shot into the sky. After a few seconds, there was a loud bang and a flash as a terrifying heat wave spread down from above.


    The lionesses were surprised and ecstatic. This was the power of their pride leader, Katari didn¡¯t look too excited though, her mind seemed to be occupied with many thoughts.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦, lead us to the territory of the Bibi clan. Let us go now." Kael said amidst the rising mist.


    "The Bibi clan?" Katari wondered out loud. She frowned at the fact that there seemed to be something she didn¡¯t know.


    Kael glanced at her lightly, "The Bibi clan is a clan of wolves, Katari. We will use them to achieve our goals," He said, not intending to hide anything from them.


    "Aren¡¯t clans supposed to be the gathering of many packs or prides? Would we be able to meet them?" Priya thought deeper as she asked.


    "Yes, but we won¡¯t be going there with hostile intentions. We are simply observing their forces and seeking their help.


    If they agree, fine, if they don¡¯t, they aren¡¯t the only options. If they attack us, many will die, as simple as that." Kael stated.


    "Okay," Priya said.


    They began their journey, N¡¯bay¨¦ walked in front in her lioness form while Kael, in his human form, walked behind her.


    Kael and Katari walked side by side, the evening sun casting the shadow of one lioness and one humanoid.


    "Kael, am I weak?" Katari suddenly asked out of the blue, surprising Kael.


    She had spoken privately, in a telepathic channel that Kael could now leave open for himself easily.


    "No¡­ why do you ask?" Kael asked as he looked down at this large lioness.


    "Do you like N¡¯bay¨¦ because she is stronger than me?" Katari asked, not answering Kael.


    "Hmm," Kael could already guess what was in Katari¡¯s mind, "Do you think I like her more than you?"


    "Do you?" The telepathic voice she was using to speak to Kael was so strange, like someone who was whispering, sobbing, and shouting at the same time. A perfect reflection of her current mental state.


    "Get stronger and find out," Kael said. He wasn¡¯t the emotionally available type from the very beginning, something he still retained from being antisocial. Although he had improved, it wasn¡¯t enough to connect with Katari and give her the answer she wanted.


    He cared for Katari, genuinely. Showing that care through actions was the only thing he could do at best, words were completely irrelevant.


    After hearing Kael¡¯s words, Katari didn¡¯t get angry, she didn¡¯t feel sad, she didn¡¯t feel anything. She acted like a soldier who had been given a mission: Get stronger and find out.


    Her eyes turned completely black as space began vibrating at a minuscule scale around her.

 Chapter 59:Wolf Pee

    As they walked through the forest, Kael spurred the Primordial laws, causing the Primordial record to appear.


    After waking up, he had new ideas he thought to try. Previously, he had paused the use of the Primordial Record because he couldn¡¯t find a way to go around the reward system.


    He couldn¡¯t be hunting large amounts of animals every day especially if he wasn¡¯t the one eating them. The lionesses could help him out but it won¡¯t be sustainable for a long time.


    So now, he has come up with a better way to handle the matter. The solution was so simple that he wondered to himself why he hadn¡¯t thought about this since.


    The screen in front of him constantly changed and flashed light, attracting the gazes of the lionesses.


    After a few minutes, Kael was done. The mission was still the same, but the reward was different, [Add lions to the Primordial Record, Reward: 2 points each]


    A very simple solution. It was like fixing the issue of trade by barter, Kael had simply created a currency that would be used to exchange for items.


    He had created another tab, an exchange tab. Here, lions with their identity marks in the primordial record could exchange points for items like meat and other things he planned on adding.


    In fact, there was still one more feature he needed to add but he refrained from doing so as there were not yet a lot of lions.


    In the meantime, he also divided mission placements. There were now going to be missions that could be completed by any lion or lioness and there would be missions exclusive to the pride leaders.


    That is, there would be missions that would require the leadership of the pride leaders and not just any lion could take on it.


    Since he was the Primordial Record¡¯s master, he could create as many points as he wanted. He had to be careful to avoid inflation if it was even possible.


    For now, he simply created one thousand points. In the future, this amount would barely go around but for now, it was enough.


    After checking everything that had been added and removed, he allowed the update to proceed.


    Soon, all the lions and lionesses in the Primordial Record across the savage lands had the screen appear in front of them. They could see the new features and the updated mission.


    Many of them also checked the exchange center out of curiosity. There was only one item there for now: Rabbit meat, 4 points.


    Many of them were discouraged by the price. But it was still something, a certain lion was already lining up his cubs, all he had to do was add two of them and he would be able to eat rabbit meat, wasn¡¯t that great?


    Kael chuckled as he looked at the small ¡¯unavailable¡¯ tab under the rabbit meat item. This was the best part about this new feature.


    He no longer was pressured by the Primordial laws to give rewards as the reward was now points. At the same time, he could make exchange items available whenever he had the opportunity.


    Like this, he was free from the double-edged rule of the Primordial Laws. Like this, he wished to discover more ways he could take advantage of the Primordial laws loopholes.


    "We are here," N¡¯bay¨¦ suddenly said as they all stopped walking.


    The forest greenery still remained the same but there was a peculiar scent in the air.


    "Wolf pee," N¡¯bay¨¦ said as she recognized the scent.


    Kael looked around, the scent of other animals was scant as if they were avoiding this place.


    His face changed as a savage expression came on his face. He snarled, revealing his sharp golden teeth.


    A rumble sounded out from Kael¡¯s muscular chest as he raised his head up to release a loud roar.


    The roar resounded for kilometers in the forest, entering the ears of those intended. Even as a humanoid, his roar still sounded very lion-like.


    They waited for some time, Kael¡¯s ears perked as he listened attentively, waiting for a response.


    *AWOOO!*


    *AWOOOOOOOO!*


    *AWOOOOO!*


    ¡­.


    The howls of wolves began reverberating, seemingly coming from all directions.


    The howls seemed to transmit emotions through the sound waves. It sounded like an angry response to a challenge.


    Thousands of birds flew into the sky, startled by the sudden movements coming from a particular direction.


    Kael and the rest immediately looked in that direction. They were far, Kael could tell, but they were coming fast.


    In less than three minutes, they could all hear the sound of heavy paws padding the ground at an incredible pace.


    Large and regular-sized wolves ran toward the pride, dodging past the tall trees like ghosts. Their ferocious growls could already be heard before they had arrived.


    However, the moment the first wolf reached Kael and his group, he nearly stumbled to the ground out of freight. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael stared intently at the grey wolf as its feet dug into the ground in an attempt to stop its movement.


    As soon as he could, the wolf scurried back until he was with the rest of the pack that just arrived.


    A pack of ten wolves was the first to arrive. All of them were different shades of grey with size differences.


    Two of them were larger than normal, being as large as Katari and the other lionesses while the rest were just regular wolves.


    The two large wolves stared cautiously at the humanoid and the nine lionesses. Out of all these lions, they had only seen N¡¯bay¨¦ before.


    Seeing so many lionesses that were of the same power level as they were really weighed heavily on their mind.


    "Who is the pack leader?" Kael spoke into their minds, gaining their full attention.


    The two wolves looked at each other, hesitation flashing in their eyes. When they heard the sound of other wolves making their way here, they grew more confident.


    One of the wolves snarled, baring his teeth at the pride. Metallic claws sprouted from his paws as the other wolf¡¯s muscles began to swell.


    Before they could make a move, however, the same grey light appeared in Kaels eyes. Instantly, all ten wolves collapsed to the ground, feeling an excruciating headache. They felt like their heads were about to explode.


    At this time, more wolves started showing up. When they saw their comrades writhing on the ground in pain, they were angry and barked at Kael and his lionesses.


    But experience told them it was wise to be cautious.


    Kael counted a total of thirty-one wolves at the scene, six of them were of similar power levels to tier 2 lions, this included the two wolves currently in pain.


    Purple electricity crackled over Kael¡¯s body as he reached out telepathically to the six large wolves, considering that they would be more rational than regular wolves, "I have not come for conflict, howlers, I simply wish to see Bibi III for some important discussions."


    The four large wolves who were still standing looked at their comrades on the ground, skeptical.


    One of them stepped forward his eyes calm when facing this lion pride whose collective aura oppressed him.


    His fur was green, like Nalii¡¯s, and there was a singular small bump on his head. A veggie wolf, natural peacekeepers.


    "Can you release them first?" He said.


    Kael nodded, the glow in his eyes disappeared and the ten wolves felt the headache subsiding.


    "Will you take us to Bibi III?" Kael asked.


    "I¡¯m not sure we have a choice," Although he funnily said this, the wolf was being completely serious. Even if all thirty-one of them decided to fight, they wouldn¡¯t win, the existence of Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ would make sure of that.


    "Lead the way then," Kael commanded.


    The wolves frowned at Kael¡¯s commanding tone but didn¡¯t say anything, they just parted to the side as the green wolf led the way.


    "This shouldn¡¯t be their entire force?" N¡¯bay¨¦ said to Kael through a private telepathic channel after observing the wolves.


    As they walked deeper into the territory, the wolves stuck close to them like they were escorting prisoners. Not to mention, sometimes, they would see wolves standing in the far distance, observing them.


    "Our priority is Bibi, we¡¯ll worry about their numbers if Bibi refuses to work with us."


    Soon, they arrived at a large tree cave. This was a type of cave where multiple trees grew over each other and formed a small space at the bottom. This small space could be dug out and expanded into the ground.


    From the looks of things, this tree cave had already been dug out as they could barely see anything past the cave entrance.


    The trees of the tree cave stretched for close to fifty meters in width and hundreds of meters in length. They clustered together in a sort of spiral, creating a sight that could only be formed naturally.


    "Wait here," The green wolf said before walking into the cave. The five other large wolves watched the pride with unhidden hostility, especially the two that had been attacked by Kael.


    This humanoid looked a lot like their clan leader.


    Kael was still observing his surroundings when he noticed that he could now see his breath as white steam. He was also noticing how the temperature was dropping at an alarming rate.


    A cold wind blew out from the cave entrance as the green wolf hurriedly walked out of the cave, he looked a bit shaken up.


    Behind him, heavy thudding footsteps reached their ears. With every footstep they heard, the temperature dropped lower and lower.


    It reached a point where a thin layer of white ice began to form on the ground and walls near the cave entrance.

 Chapter 60: Your Father Was Stupid

    "Welcome, Lions." The voice was calm and collected, bringing a warmth that was quite contrasting to their cold environment.


    Out of the cave came a man, slightly over six feet. He had a head full of white hair along with two white pointy ears on his head. Behind him, a fluffy white tail swished about, carrying with it a cold air that froze the ground beneath him.


    This man was naked, like Kael, seemingly not aware of the concept of nakedness. This exposed his fair skin and rippling muscles.


    Compared to Kael, this white-haired man was leaner. His hair was well kept and his mannerism was full of dignity.


    His icy blue eyes lingered on N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael, taking note of their powerful aura which translated to them being the same level as he was.


    "Are you Bibi III?" Kael asked with curiosity in his eyes. This wolf man had frozen the ground all around him, painting a peculiar picture.


    This was a passive show of power, a way to tell the visitors that he was no pushover.


    Kael didn¡¯t put too much mind on it, he needed everyone to feel secure about themselves. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes, I am." Bibi III answered telepathically, "Why have you visited us?"


    Kael chuckled and stepped forward, causing the surrounding wolves to flinch. However, Bibi¡¯s nod signaled them to relax.


    Kael, seemingly ¡¯unaware¡¯ of the discomfort his presence was causing, sat on the ground with his legs crossed, "I came to talk about us working together." He said to Bibi III.


    Bibi¡¯s pointy ears twitched as he asked, "What could lions and wolves possibly work together for?"


    "The mountain," Kael answered immediately. A look of interest finally flashed in Bibi¡¯s eyes but he quickly hid it.


    As if coming to an understanding, he walked and sat in front of Kael.


    The world seemed to be split into two realms as white frost covered everything around and behind Bibi, but the frost could not get near Kael.


    No matter how cold it was, everything behind Kael remained warm and green.


    The lionesses drew closer to Kael and the numerous wolves surrounded them, keeping a certain distance out of respect for their leader.


    "How should I address you?" Bibi asked. Not only did Kael have more body mass than Bibi, but Kael also had a small beards whereas Bibi just had a smooth face.


    "My name¡¯s Kael, leader of the Ol-mytee lion pride."


    "Have you perhaps, come to us for help?" Bibi suddenly asked.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ narrowed her eyes at Bibi, but she didn¡¯t say anything, instead, she and Kael had a separate private conversation.


    Kael chuckled, "You are mistaken Bibi, I came for a simple alliance. I want us to work together to take over the mountain."


    "No, you want my help. Admit it." Bibi said with a sly grin.


    Kael wore a smile that wasn¡¯t exactly a smile. This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to go in his head.


    Kael shook his head, "Bibi III, your Bibi clan used to be the strongest wolf clan in the forest.


    You guys had the largest numbers of awakened wolves and you were just a few moments away from becoming as powerful as your father.


    All was well until your father, Bibi II, felt that the mountain should be the perfect base for the Bibi clan.


    Unfortunately for him, there were a couple of powerful entities living in that mountain who didn¡¯t take likely to your father¡¯s actions.


    And as the saying goes, there cannot be two kings in one kingdom. You¡¯re father fought well, but he was stupid, his outcome was exactly how it was supposed to go¡­death."


    Kael¡¯s was like magic, instantly making the grin on Bibi¡¯s face disappear. His smile turned upside down as his blue eyes increased their radiance.


    "Do you insult me and my clan, lion?" Bibi asked in a chilling tone.


    "No, I¡¯m simply retelling the tale of the day Bibi II brought shame to the whole Bibi clan. Leaving you to look for a way to wipe that shame off." Kael said, it was his turn to have a sly grin on his face.


    "You thought the inhabitants of this forest forgot? They didn¡¯t. The shame is still there, like blood on white.


    And now, I come, offering an alliance, hoping that you would be willing to wipe your clan¡¯s shame and restore your reputation.


    But how do you respond? You begin playing negotiation tricks on us like it¡¯s going to matter if we actually succeed in taking the mountain.


    What if I am indeed seeking help? Does it change the fact that you would also benefit from this?" Kael folded his arms, feigning anger as his aura became more oppressive


    A thoughtful look appeared on Bibi¡¯s face as he pondered on Kael¡¯s words. He might be an ice wolf but there was still an innate hotheaded inside of him.


    They spent minutes looking at each other with different expressions. Kael inwardly felt uncomfortable being stared at by a naked man like this but he had to remind himself that these guys were wild animals deep within.


    Finally, after minutes of the staring contest. Bibi spoke, "Do you have a plan?" He asked.


    The smile on Kael¡¯s face widened as he nodded his head. N¡¯bay¨¦ spoke more words to him privately before he began to talk again.


    "You and I are individually at the same level your father had been when he was killed at the mountain. He was one fighting against many, even with the number of wolves who followed him on his conquest, it would have not been enough.


    What we need is a combination of both quality and quantity. You have the quantity, I have the quality.


    But that is also not enough, we¡¯re going to be strategic about this if we are to proceed. We may even have to consume the mountain one small bite after the other, or we may take it over in one fell swoop."


    "It seems you have thought about this well," Bibi said with some thoughts.


    "Yes,"


    "You could have also made plans for me," Bibi said again.


    Kael paused for a bit before shaking his head, "Indeed, I made plans for you, but that¡¯s just in case you betray me.


    To be honest, N¡¯bay¨¦ suggested we go to the other clans since they may have better-quality wolves in their hands.


    If you refuse, I¡¯ll have to burden myself with looking for them for¡­what did you call it?...Help."


    If Kael was talking to any wolf other than a veggie wolf or an Ice wolf, he would¡¯ve never uttered these sentences.


    "Hmm," Bibi glanced at N¡¯bay¨¦ who lay by Kael¡¯s side leisurely, as if she wasn¡¯t part of this discussion.


    "I doubt your plan is as simple as that but let¡¯s just say we succeed. How do we share the mountain?


    You said it yourself, two kings cannot exist in one kingdom. What guarantee is there that I won¡¯t be forced to fight for a spot on the mountain?" Bibi asked the main question.


    "I know what I said, and it¡¯s true. But who says we have to share one kingdom?


    Think of it like two kingdoms coming together for an alliance so that they can share amongst themselves.


    We¡¯ll simply divide the mountain into two. You take the part facing where the sun rises, and I take the part facing where the sun sets."


    Bibi sank into thought again, his inner ponders unknown.


    Kael then spoke out to bring Bibi out of his train of thought, "Do we have a deal?"


    Bibi shook his head, "I still have some time to think about it."


    Kael didn¡¯t seem disturbed by this, he shrugged his shoulders and said. "That is normal. Here¡¯s what we are going to do.


    I plan on taking action as soon as tomorrow. It may sound absurd but I don¡¯t want to waste time on this mountain acquisition.


    I¡¯ll give you till tomorrow before the sun fully rises. If you did not come by then, I¡¯ll assume you refused our offer and I¡¯ll move on to the next wolf clan.


    And if no wolves are willing to work with me, then I¡¯ll have to meet the spiders."


    Bibi III was very calm until he heard the last sentences. Instantly, his blue eyes glowed brighter and the frost on the floor thickened.


    The wolves were the only ones affected as the lionesses had warmth coming from Kael as his body had fainted flickers of flame here and there.


    Before Bibi could react, Kael stood up, followed by his lionesses, before he walked out of the premises.


    His and N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s aura made it hard for any wolves to summon the courage to stand in front of them.


    Bibi watched their backs with a strange expression on his face.


    "My lord, do you trust them?" The green wolf from before stepped up at this time to talk to Bibi.


    A lazy expression covered Bibi¡¯s face as he answered, "Of course not, I¡¯m just thinking of how I can maximize the use of these lions.


    They were never to be trusted."


    "So, does that mean we aren¡¯t going to work with them?" The green wolf asked.


    Bibi sighed, feeling annoyed by the questioning from an inferior. "I¡¯m still thinking about it."


    After saying that Bibi walked into his cave, and soon after, a few female wolves followed after him.

 Chapter 61: To Suffer, To Enjoy

    Early morning, the next day.


    Inside the highest cave of the mountain, red lightning continuously shot out of the cave as a low tiger roar reverberated everywhere.


    Space rippled like a curtain as a magnificent bird blended into existence. It was a crane, white and black in color.


    Its long beak was black, like crude oil, and the talons at the end of its long legs looked like they could rip the void itself to shreds.


    The crane landed his three-meter-tall body in front of the cave entrance. He didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of the red lightning that occasionally brushed his body.


    "DARIUS! COME OUT YOU HERMIT!" The crane shouted at the top of his voice. The sound of his voice grating to the ear would make anyone frown.


    The red lightning instantly stopped shooting out of the cave.


    "I¡¯m not in the mood Isaiah," Darius sounded tired, like he was frustrated.


    "Evolving into a Tier 4 tiger doesn¡¯t happen immediately okay, you should chill." As Isaiah said this, his body began to shrink and he transformed into a thin young man.


    A sigh that came from the bottom of his heart echoed past Darius¡¯s cave. Soon, a tall red-haired man walked out leisurely.


    "Don¡¯t you have something better to do?" Darius asked, annoyed. His piercing red eyes showed friendliness but his facial muscles feigned anger.


    "I actually don¡¯t, that¡¯s why I came. Hehe," Isaiah said as he walked to the edge of the flat ground where the cave rested.


    He looked down from the tall mountain, his sharp eyes scanning everything in detail.


    "Isaiah," Darius called, his voice taking a more serious tone.


    "Yeah?" Isaiah turned away to look at Darius as the latter also stood at the edge of the top ground.


    "Don¡¯t you have any desire to evolve?" Darius asked, a bit worried.


    "Why would I?" Isaiah asked with a playful chuckle.


    "Don¡¯t you desire to become better than what you are currently? The power, the might, don¡¯t you want them?"


    Isaiah turned away to look at the mountain floor again, "I do actually, but I¡¯m not ready to put that amount of effort into it yet.


    Look at you, hunting once in a while then retreating to your cave for long periods of time so that you can evolve.


    I can¡¯t be doing that, I¡¯m a free bird. I like traveling and I have a lot of years ahead of me to take evolving to the next level seriously.


    Besides, there is a possibility for failure, by which you could end up crippling yourself."


    "Hmm, I also want to travel the world, but I don¡¯t want to be unfortunate enough to stumble upon a foe I can¡¯t defeat.


    I don¡¯t want this cave to be taken from me, I don¡¯t want to be chased out of every tiger territory I enter like when I was younger.


    So, I must evolve.


    You¡¯re willing to travel around the world at your young age when your peers are busy grinding to have a better future.


    We may not travel often now, but if we can lay the foundation for our success, our future will be filled with the best of things the world has to offer.


    You can either enjoy now before you make a sacrifice later, or you can sacrifice now and enjoy later.


    Your choice."


    Isaiah shrugged his shoulders, "To each his own.


    When you succeed, however, don¡¯t forget me, hehehe. I¡¯ll definitely come to you for protection."


    Darius sighed, seeing that his friend was not taking him seriously.


    "What are you looking at?" He asked, trailing his sight to where Isaiah was looking at.


    Isaiah frowned, "I saw some wolves near the foot of the mountain some time ago, they seemed to be scouting for something."


    "You think it¡¯s related to those lions?" Darius asked.


    "Nah, ever since the neighbors have been giving them trouble, they¡¯ve been low-key and defensive."


    "It¡¯s a shame that the rhino had to die, what happened to his heart? I was afraid that another tier 3 lioness would appear among them but I haven¡¯t seen anything in the past six months."


    "What about that male lion among them? The one with golden fur. I haven¡¯t seen him in the last six months too¡­" Isaiah trailed off, not sure whether his contemplations were true.


    "Well, male lions are usually very lazy and don¡¯t like taking action unless necessary." Although Darius said this, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he was questioning his next decisions.


    "Let¡¯s just watch first," Isaiah muttered.


    All this time, they had been speaking in a language very few in the forest knew of.


    ########


    "Aaah!"


    "Ahh!"


    "Ugh!"


    "Argh"


    The sound of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s moans rushed out of the cave and into the ears of the other lionesses outside, causing their eyes to twitch.


    Normally, they liked to act like they didn¡¯t know what was going but as the sounds got louder, they began wondering.


    Katari was the only one who acted normal. She sat there with her black eyes staring into the void. None of what was happening was her concern for now.


    The sounds would sometimes shift from human-like sensual moans to zesty lion growls. It sounded as if N¡¯bay¨¦ was changing from humanoid to lioness and back while having sex.


    Very freaky.


    Then there were also the slapping sounds and the crazed stench that wafted into their nose.


    After close to an hour, the freaky sounds stopped coming out of the cave.


    A few magic circles appeared in and at the entrance of the cave as water gathered out of the ground and rushed over the floor and walls.


    The self-cleaning mechanism soon wiped out the stench and made the cave look as good as new.


    Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ walked out of the cave in their Humanoid forms, N¡¯bay¨¦ looked particularly exhausted as she leaned slightly on Kael¡¯s arm.


    Where was the cold, logical, and calculating N¡¯bay¨¦? Why was she looking so¡­flushed?


    Kael looked up at the rising sun, ¡¯There¡¯s still time.¡¯


    "Kael, I¡¯ll be going to my station to prepare, just in case," N¡¯bay¨¦ said with a weak smile.


    Kael nodded, allowing N¡¯bay¨¦ to go to the clearing.


    The sun rose higher and higher as Kael¡¯s face became darker. Just when he was about to give up and think of which other wolf clan to meet, the sound of rustling bushes entered his ears.


    He looked to one side of the forest. The forest had mostly started recovering from their fight with the rhino but it would take some time for the trees to fully grow back.


    Multiple figures came into view with one of them being a tall humanoid with white hair in his head.


    Kael recognized this man as Bibi III.


    "Kael, I have come to bargain!" Bibi reached out telepathically before he arrived in front of them.


    The lionesses stood up, alert and ready as they saw the multitude of wolves following behind Bibi.


    "I was beginning to lose faith, what is it?" Kael asked as he looked at the large wolves behind Bibi.


    Each wolf was almost twice the size of a regular wolf and there were eight of them. However, they were not like Kael¡¯s pride.


    More than one of them had fiery fur that gave off the aura of a fire-type heart awakening.


    The green wolf from before was among them. There was also one white wolf who stuck especially close to Bibi. The two grey wolves that Kael had attacked spiritually were also there.


    Bibi arrived in front of Kael, looking up at the taller man. Even so, his aura did not diminish in the least.


    His blue eyes stared intently at Kael as he said, "If we work together, after we succeed, I want you to help me annex the other wolf clans."


    Kael raised his eyebrows, acting surprised, "And here I was, thinking you would ask me to fight the spiders."


    "I¡¯m just thinking of what¡¯s best for the clan. No benefit can come from going after the spiders now." Bibi said, thinking rationally. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡¯No benefit to you, but to me.¡¯ Kael thought to himself.


    On the outside, Kael looked like he was having trouble agreeing but he was inwardly at peace.


    "Fine," Kael finally admitted. He wanted to stretch his hand out to finalize the deal but remembered Bibi probably didn¡¯t know what a handshake was.


    Only after hearing Kael agree did he put a smile on his face.


    He turned around to address the more than one hundred wolves behind him.


    "From now on, we, the Bibi clan, will be allied with the Ol-mytee Pride. The decision has been made."


    After that, Bibi raised his head to the sky as he let out a loud howl. His howl resounded all over the mountain and was heard by all its inhabitants.


    ¡¯I would have preferred a surprise attack¡­¡¯ Kael thought, annoyed by the sudden howling.


    *AWOOO!*


    *AWOOOOOOOO!*


    *AWOOOOO!*


    *AWOOOOOOOOOOOO!*


    All the wolves present started howling at the sky, early in the morning.


    ¡¯Never mind,¡¯ Kael gave up, Kael would have been tempted to think this was a setup if not that he learned of Bibi¡¯s nature beforehand.


    The howling was just the culture of the wolves and he would have to get used to it if he wanted them to be his subjects in the future.


    Little did Bibi know that Kael¡¯s soul came from a world where worded agreements meant close to nothing.

 Chapter 62: Water Snake

    "FUCK!" Isaiah shouted as he saw the gathering of wolves at the bottom of the mountain. His eyes widened in shock.


    Darius narrowed his eyes, his eyesight wasn¡¯t as good as Isaiah¡¯s but he could still see the mass of wolves at the bottom of the mountain.


    "What are they doing here? And their howling, they¡¯re not even trying to hide their presence." Darius said as red electricity crackled around his body. His tiger tail behind him swished around erratically.


    "That Bibi guy is talking with another humanoid. Hmmm, it seems to be the male lion from before from the aura I¡¯m reading." Isaiah said, feeling more surprised as he looked on.


    Darius frowned harder, "So they actually used the rhino to evolve, Interesting."


    "What are they trying to do? No way they want to take a small spot with that number." Isaiah asked.


    "Isn¡¯t it obvious, they want to take over the mountain with the lions," Darius stated what he assumed was the most logical reason.


    Darius shook his head, "Alas, the mountain is a good strategic point. Close to a water source and very iconic for a point of command.


    Anyone who can control the mountain alone can use it as a base point to control the entire forest."


    "What do we do?" Isaiah asked.


    "You should wait and see for now, we still have neighbors they have to go through before they reach the top." As Darius said this, he began walking back to the cave.


    "Me? And what about you, won¡¯t you take action?" Isaiah asked with a frown.


    "I can feel that I¡¯m just a few steps away from evolving into tier 4. No time to waste.


    If I can successfully complete the evolution, all this drama will end immediately."


    With that, Darius walked into the cave and soon after, red lightning began to cover the whole area.


    Isaiah looked at this with a deeper frown. His eyes revealed a hint of envy, but also a small amount of worry.


    Then he looked down again to watch the wolves and the lions.


    ##########


    "By the way, where is N¡¯bay¨¦?" Bibi III asked Kael at this moment.


    "Oh, she went to hunt, she¡¯s making sure that food will be ready if we retreat." Kael lied with a straight face.


    "I see, you could have sent one of your weaker lionesses, but okay," Bibi said but Kael acted as if he did not hear it, which was infuriating especially when Bibi was clearly talking telepathically.


    Kael turned to the mountain, looking up at the peak where he could make out a faint humanoid shadow. "Who should we kill first?"


    At this time, Olivia jumped up, "I know, I know! There¡¯s that water snake guy, he should be first."


    Zabita shook her head, laughing, "Olivia, you just want us to take the incave pond."


    "I like that Indoor pond too, and his cave is very big," Ruda said excitedly.


    "How did you guys know he has an indoor pond?" Kael asked, fascinated by what they were talking about.


    Nalii spoke up, "The water snake was one of the neighbors who bullied us but not too much.


    Out of spite, N¡¯bay¨¦ led us to also disturb the entrance of his cave. It was then N¡¯bay¨¦ explained the type of cave the water snake resided in."


    "I see," Kael said, in thought.


    "We should go after this water snake first," Bibi said with righteous indignation.


    "Okay then," Kael agreed.


    "Lead us there, Diane,"


    Diane, who had long been excited for some action after seeing the number of wolves around them, jumped up and immediately ran in a certain direction.


    "FOLLOW!" Bibi shouted to the wolves as he pointed his clawed finger at her departing figure.


    Like a tsunami of fur and savagery, the wolves and lionesses ran after Diane, leaving behind roars and barks.


    Bibi and Kael were left behind, they walked casually following the scent of their people.


    "I heard you are a special one among lions," Bibi suddenly said to Kael.


    Kael nodded, "Something like that."


    "I know you have ambitions Kael, I can see it in your eyes. But I wanted to let you know, if you do betray me, the wolves will never let you off, no matter how special you are." Bibi said with a chilly gaze.


    "I have no intention of betraying you unless you give me a reason to," Kael shrugged his large shoulders, seemingly not bothered by this threat.


    After that, they walked in silence, the thoughts they had toward each other remained a mystery.


    Eventually, they made it to the lair of the water snake that was spoken of.


    This cave was indeed bigger than N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave. Even the cave entrance was significantly bigger than N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s.


    It looked more like a burrow than an actual cave. From the entrance, the ground became sloppy and went downward and the sides were like the walls of a tunnel. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The wolves stepped out of the way, creating a patch into the cave for Kael and Bibi.


    As the duo took the first step into the cave, they could see dried snakeskin lying around the corners.


    From the looks of the snakeskins, the snake was very very big, and the color showed that it should be a certain shade of blue-ish green.


    As they walked deeper into the cave, their followers followed behind them one after the other.


    They walked a distance of close to twenty meters before the tunnel opened up into a large hall-like cave.


    The cave was more than a hundred meters in diameter and probably three hundred meters in height.


    At the center of this hall was a dark pond about fifty meters in diameter, taking up half of the hall cave.


    Everywhere was dark, and although most of the wolves and all the lionesses here had natural night vision, they still found it hard to know how far or how close some things were.


    *WOOF!*


    One of the large wolves with orange-yellow fur barked loudly, and his body burst into flames, turning him into a wolf torch.


    The two other fire wolves and Eidel also did this. The four sources of light instantly lit up the cave, allowing the invaders to see well.


    Only one-third of the wolves could enter the cave and still have space to move around efficiently.


    "You guys should wait outside, Priya, Nalii, and Olivia, you guys should also follow."


    Kael ordered quickly and Bibi nodded in approval.


    As they made their way out, one of the large wolves, the white one who always stuck close to Bibi, stepped forward.


    ¡¯She must be Bibi V, Bibi IV must be one of the fire wolves.¡¯ Kael thought as he observed the white wolf.


    This white wolf was Bibi¡¯s second and last child, she was also the closest to Bibi III due to their wolf heart type.


    Bibi V stepped close to the edge of the pond, and when her front paw touched the surface of the pond, it instantly froze.


    She walked on the surface of the pond as anywhere she stepped, the water would freeze and harden.


    She was also trying to freeze the pond. If it was Bibi III, he could easily freeze the entire pond solid depending on how deep it was.


    The temperature of the pond water continued to drop but it did not turn to ice.


    Just then, Kael could see a faint shadow in the water uncoiling itself. Bibi also saw it and reacted fast.


    "Come back!" He called his daughter.


    Just as Bibi V jumped to the hard ground, water splashed everywhere as a colossal figure burst out of the water.


    A serpent as thick as a bucket rose out of the water, its cold slit pupils locking on the white wolf.


    The snake had scales that were a combination of deep blue and soft green, giving it an aquatic look.


    Its head was oval-shaped, like a python, and its mouth was slightly opened like it was about to strike.


    Its length was unknown because the rest of the body was still under the water.


    "YOU!" Its telepathic voice resounded in everyone¡¯s mind, it was loud and sounded exactly how Kael imagined it to be.


    Just then, Bibi leaned forward before disappearing from his position and appearing at the edge of the pond.


    Kael watched as Bibi stuck his hand into the pond, and instantly, the whole pond froze into hard ice.


    The giant snake didn¡¯t have time to react, it could only look down at the source of the freezing energy.


    Its slit eyes got even thinner as its voice revealed fear, "You¡­ what are you doing here?"


    He was initially just angry but now he was a little bit scared. His body which was still in the water could not move as it was surrounded by ice.


    Not to mention he was a cold-blooded animal, he couldn¡¯t handle whatever was happening for long.


    He began to wriggle his body, using his powerful muscles to break the ice.


    "ATTACK NOW!" Kael commanded.


    Immediately, the numerous wolves and lionesses swarmed towards the body of the snake.


    Kael almost laughed out loud at how fantastic this sight was.


    Large pieces of ice broke off as the serpent wriggled its body erratically. The wolves and lionesses ran on the ice to quickly reach the snake.


    The fire wolves and Eidel did not go after the snake as it would melt the ice and prevent their companions from reaching the snake.


    *SCREEEEEEEE!*


    The serpent opened its mouth to release what was a mixture of hissing and screeching. It was out of the pain it had begun feeling.


    It looked down to see wolves biting on its serpentine body. Its scales might be hard but with so many wolves biting at the same time relentlessly, it was causing damage.


    There were even wolves fighting to get a chance to bite him, and there was this muscular lioness that was actually trying to climb his body with her sharp claws.


    Enraged, the snake raised its head even higher. Then in one motion, it slammed its large head down.


    *BOOM!*


    A shockwave spread out as if a bomb had just gone off.


    Kael¡¯s eyes widened as he quickly brought his arms up to defend himself from the force of this omnidirectional attack.

 Chapter 63: Serpentine

    As the snake¡¯s head slammed into the ice, the pond instantly liquidized, defying as many laws of physics as possible.


    In that same millisecond, that very moment before the wolves sank into the water, the pond exploded.


    Water streams flew out in every direction inside the cave, sending the wolves flying and flooding the whole cave.


    Kael stood his ground as the water enveloped him and flowed past to the tunnel behind him.


    Many wolves and the lionesses had their bodies rag doll across the walls against their will.


    The pond seemed to overflow as the cave began to get flooded. Soon, even Kael was submerged as he had taken in a deep breath before his head was enveloped.


    Kael opened his eyes just in time to see the serpent dive down into the large abyss that used to be where the pond used to be.


    He could see the full length of the snake and this creature was absolutely massive. If he estimated, it would probably be around thirty meters long.


    "Bibi!" Kael shouted telepathically, noticing the erratically shifting eyes of the snake, indicating its fear.


    "He¡¯s trying to run, I know. Should we chase?" Bibi asked, he turned around even as he was submerged in water to look at Kael.


    However, Kael shot past him in the form of a golden blur.


    The water seemed to be electrified and small whirlpools would appear behind Kael.


    "Oh!" Bibi exclaimed before he kicked his legs, swimming after Kael and the water snake.


    For beings like them, holding their breath underwater for a very long time was not difficult.


    The wolfman and lionman came to the top of the deep abyss, their golden and blue eyes flickered and they could still make out the figure of the fleeing snake.


    Kael¡¯s human body began to swell and his aura got more savage. Activating the War State in his humanoid form was almost the same as in his lion form.


    His body grew to nearly three meters in height and became more robust. His already muscular body looked like it was about to burst as golden veins began flowing all through his body.


    His golden hair stood on end like spikes and his claws elongated into sharp curves. He could feel rationality slipping from his grasp slowly and surely.


    Without wasting time, he leaned downward, kicked his legs back, and left a shockwave behind as he shot down like a torpedo.


    The water seemed to explode and the weaker wolves had their bodies hit by a water wave.


    Bibi¡¯s eyes flickered as he saw this. The water around him froze until he was surrounded by a four-cornered ice crystal.


    The large ice crystal began to spin at a high velocity, causing a terrifying water current to form around it.


    The ice crystal began to go down, accelerating the lower it went until it caught up to Kael and was even slightly overtaking him.


    Kael had his eyes locked on the tail of the snake as they sank deeper and deeper into the water abyss.


    Despite the speed they were moving at, the snake was faster in its territory, the water.


    He was sure that they had gone way below the mountain foot level.


    At this point, the snake suddenly took a turn, easily slipping its body into an underwater tunnel.


    Kael sped up as he quickly followed the snake into the tunnel. Bibi, who was in his crystal, easily controlled himself to be able to make a sharp turn and follow after the snake.


    Kael did some quick calculations in his mind before establishing a long-distance telepathic channel with Priya.


    "Priya, tell everyone to head towards the river. The snake is escaping in that direction." He said before shutting off and focusing on the chase.


    His arms flapped rhythmically, same with his legs, allowing him to propel himself through the water rapidly.


    ###


    Priya, who was still outside and had just received the message from Kael, was looking at the water flowing out of the cave entrance with the rest of the wolves and lionesses.


    "Everyone, they said the snake is escaping toward the river, let¡¯s go!" Her strong telepathic voice reached the more than fifty wolves present.


    As soon as Priya delivered the message, She, Olivia, and Nalii immediately ran in the direction of the river.


    The green wolf, Bibi¡¯s right hand, also spoke up, "Let¡¯s go," Although he was cautious, the disappearing figures of the lionesses reminded him that he didn¡¯t know where this river was.


    ###


    At the same time, Isaiah who was watching from the top of the mountain saw the lionesses and wolves suddenly start running in one direction like a tide of savagery and violence.


    "Interesting?" He muttered, he looked back at Darius¡¯s cave, an unreadable expression on his face, before looking back.


    He released a sigh, jumped into the air, and began transforming.


    Feathers grew out of his arms and his legs got thinner and longer. His nose and mouth fused into a long yellow beak.


    His feathers shifted into a black-and-white color, and space began to ripple around him.


    Reality seemed to shatter as a portal opened in front of him before he could begin falling. In one swoop, he shot into the colorless portal, seeking to observe this battle in detail.


    ####


    Meanwhile, as Kael and Bibi swam through the tunnel, they observed that the speed of the water snake was reduced by a lot.


    This was because this tunnel had many jagged rocks sticking out from the sides, and the snake had to be careful not to crash into these jutting rocks.


    Even then, the snake was still fast and Kael and Bibi could only match its speed and not catch up to it.


    As they swam through the tunnel, they began to rise, as if they were about to break out into the surface.


    "Brace yourself," Kael warned as he started channeling power within his body.


    Purple lightning began to flow around his body, lighting up the dark tunnel. Kael clenched his fist, allowing the electric field to spread out.


    Bibi¡¯s eyes widened at the appearance of the lightning and had to slow down to reduce its effect on him. Luckily, the crystal ice encasing he was in prevented the electric currents from touching him.


    The water snake wasn¡¯t so lucky on the other hand. It had caught the flash of purple from the corner of Its eyes but had no way to defend.


    Electric currents viciously ran through his body, ravaging his insides and causing his muscles to contract uncontrollably. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For those two seconds that the water snake received the shock of its life, Kael and Bibi used the opportunity to close the distance.


    The snake reacted sooner than later. It twisted its body erratically, causing a whirling water current to form around it.


    Kael and Bibi found it hard to control themselves as they were repeatedly slammed into the walls of the tunnel.


    Kael¡¯s large muscular body repeatedly smashed through the rocks, and large debris continuously swirled around hitting Bibi¡¯s crystal ice encasing.


    Multiple ice spikes froze into existence around Bibi. Spinning with ruthless velocity, they shot after the water snake, seeking to potentially give it a cold death.


    Unfortunately, only three spikes managed to hit the snake, with one piercing through its serpentine stomach and sticking out of the other side.


    The water was dyed red, a reminder that this was a life-and-death situation.


    Kael and Bibi continuously threw attacks, hoping to slow down the snake, if not kill it outrightly.


    However, as if seeing an angel, the snake acted with renewed vigor. It swam fast, heading for the faint light that had appeared ahead at some point.


    Seeing the faint light above, Kael swam harder. Fortunately, the duo had covered some distance and Keal was able to grab the tip of the tail.


    Kael heaved as he slammed his legs into the ground, causing cracks to spread and his feet to sink in.


    Bibi¡¯s crystal flashed past him, aiming its pointy tip at the snake¡¯s head.


    Like flowing water, ever flexible, the snake twisted, immediately curling its serpentine body around the ice crystal.


    Like sticks used to draw on beach sand, Kael¡¯s legs created fissures as he held onto the snake¡¯s tail as it dragged him through the tunnel and closer to the faint light.


    Cracking sounds could be heard as a terrifying frost slipped out of the ice crystal and into the snake that was trying to break it with its powerful body.


    Alas, the snake was fighting against two creatures of the same power level who were still restricted by their humanoid form.


    And there was still the fact that this entire battle was happening underwater. One could only imagine the fate of the snake if all this happened on land.


    Kael was behind him, pulling him back little by little and the ice crystal he was trying to shatter with his death squeeze was freezing his body at a terrifying rate.


    The water churned, as if boiling, and multiple water currents formed around the snake, twisting around his long form like countless transparent water snakes surrounded their snake king.


    Kael and Bibi, sensing that something was about to happen, held on tight to whatever they could get their hands on.


    #####


    The river flowed peacefully, with the wavy lines formed from movements the only form of disturbance on its watery surface.


    There would be an occasional bird chirping as it flew past this serene environment.


    Priya, who stood at the bank of the river, looked at this environment with scrutiny. Behind her were the forest trees as well as Nalii, Olivia, and an army of wolves.


    The large green wolf looked around, his nose twitching as he tried to pick up a scent, "Where are they?" He asked.


    Priya did not answer.


    "What if they are still at the cave, we have most of our forces here," One of the large grey wolves spoke into the telepathic channel. From the sound of his voice, he was very untrusting toward the credibility of Priya¡¯s words.


    What if they had all been tricked into coming here when there was nothing to come to?


    Feeling frustrated, Priya retorted emotionally, "You should have stayed behind if you didn¡¯t trust me."


    Her words angered a lot of wolves, the restlessness that followed made it look like there was going to be a fallout.


    Suddenly, the earth beneath their feet trembled as though a small earthquake was coming.


    The river, like it had been taken over by some mysterious force, stopped flowing, and then began moving in the opposite direction.


    No, not right, the water was moving to the whirlpool that had formed in the center of the river.


    Priya and the rest looked at this with caution, their claws sticking out of their paws and digging into the soil.


    Then there was this sinking, disturbing, high-pitched sound that was very hurting to the ears. The sound got louder and louder, seemingly going to increase until the listeners bled from their ears.


    *BOOM!*


    Then the sound stopped, followed by a loud boom.

 Chapter 64: Magic Stones

    A gigantic ball of water shot out of the whirlpool. Just before it shot into the sky, it seemed to be blocked by a transparent space shield.


    Ripples spread across the space as the ball of water spun in place, just two meters above the water.


    The ball of water surprisingly seemed to be in the process of freezing. Sometimes, the water would freeze completely before melting out again in the blink of an eye.


    Inside this huge ball of water, probably more than thirty meters in diameter, Priya and the others could make out the figures of a giant snake, along with the smaller shadows of two humanoids.


    The shadows moved too fast within the water for anyone to make sense of what was happening.


    A purple ring of electricity began to form and surround the ball of water. The figures within the water globe, even the snake, stopped their movement immediately.


    *BOOM!*


    The water globe exploded, throwing away the inhabitants as far away as possible.


    Bibi and Kael flew away in the left and right direction respectively. The snake fell toward the direction Priya and the wolves were standing.


    "KILL!" Kael ordered before his body fell back into the water.


    The wolves and lionesses were already feeling pumped just watching the battle, seeing the snake falling back into the water behind them, they could almost taste the scales that would soon be in their mouths.


    As soon as they heard Kael¡¯s order, they moved. The wolves jumped into the river with vicious gazes trained on the fallen snake.


    The water snake raised its head high above the water and let out a ghostly screech. The water rose around it like a mini tsunami shield.


    Streams of water continuously shot out of the water barrier, hitting and incapacitating the income wolves.


    But the water snake was already tired because of Kael and Bibi. The number of wolves it could eliminate within a short amount of time was limited.


    Wet vines shot out of the river bed and at the snake¡¯s head. The vine wrapped around the neck of the water snake and tightened, trying to pull the serpentine beast to the river.


    A couple of other vines shot out from another direction and wrapped around the neck of the snake, pulling it down with tremendous strength.


    Still, the snake resisted, raising its water walls higher and higher.


    The vines were the work of Nalii and the green wolf. The horns on Nalii¡¯s head glowed brightly, evidence of the power she was exercising.


    The singular horn on the wolf¡¯s head also glowed brightly but not as intense as Nalii¡¯s.


    At this point, one of the large wolves with them, in his war state, with muscles bulging as if they were about to explode and fangs jutting out of the corners of its mouth, plunged it at the water wall.


    Like a hot knife through butter, his body shot through the water wall in one motion.


    An incredible feat indeed that left an opening distraction for the snake.


    The water snake rested its furious eyes on the War Wolf wading through the water to meet him.


    *SHHH!*


    The muscular wolf was immediately cut in half by a water blade that sliced out of the river.


    A tier 2 wolf, gone just like that.


    More blood dyed the water and this scent seemed to madden the wolves.


    More wolves jumped into the water wall, pushing themselves and using their numbers to get to the other side.


    One by one, as they stuck their heads out of the water wall, they were hit with water bullets.


    Heads burst open into a brief cloud of blood and brains. Many of the wolves began dying, but more of them were making it out of the water wall.


    The snake began to expend the energy it was supposed to have used to escape. This was because it had already judged that there was no escape route for him.


    He could sense Kael and Bibi standing far away, watching the scene of him getting mobbed by wolves.


    If he tried to run away, those two would immediately get to him and maybe kill him faster.


    Like a beast pushed against the wall, the snake had no choice but to fight with all its might.


    Water blades flew everywhere and storms of water bullets were occuring at the slightest head turn.


    At this time, a few stones in the riverbed began to emit a strange aura. Different magic runes appeared on the bodies of these little rocks as they began floating off the riverbed.


    One stone in particular, with blue markings, began to release blue electric arcs.


    A beam of blue electricity shot out of the rock and straight to the large snake.


    The snake released a hiss that translated its agony very well. Its long and colossal body twist and writhe in pain.


    The wolves and lionesses were a bit confused at the sudden absence of attacks but seeing that the water wall was collapsing and the rain of water bullets had stopped, they were ecstatic.


    Like warmongers who had just found the killers of their mother, they rushed the snake, sinking their fangs into its flesh as soon as they got close.


    The snake recovered from the electric shock that had severely damaged its insides, only for it to experience a new form of mind-numbing pain.


    This pain was similar to what a human would feel if his body was being bitten by multiple rats at the same time.


    And not only were they biting him, but they were also eating away at his flesh. Their little fangs struggled with the sinew of his hard flesh and he was feeling every moment of it.


    Every time he tried to retaliate and take control of the water, that stone at the bottom of the river would shine light and zap him with a thick stream of electricity.


    Bibi eyed the blue electric arcs that would come out of the river water once in a while. He had assumed that he and Kael would have to put in more work to kill this snake.


    But seeing this turn of events, Bibi could catch a glimpse of how Kael treated this situation. Although he didn¡¯t know that the blue electric arcs were related to N¡¯bay¨¦, he felt that they were related to Kael.


    Looking at Kael¡¯s calm face, the lion man looked like everything that was happening was within his expectations, which could more or less be false.


    After all, Kael did not know that N¡¯baye also had these magic stones in the river.


    One of the vines that was tightened around the snake¡¯s neck suddenly got loose. Nalii retrieved her powers after hearing the message she was given telepathically.


    The green wolf could only wonder why as he saw Nalii running in another direction.


    The snake was losing blood. The wolves had no intention of giving him a swift death, instead, they gnawed on him until there was no longer any movement on his part.


    His lengthy body now had multiple gory holes and his scaled skin hung loosely on the waters.


    "Get away!" Bibi thundered as he quickly rushed to the corpse of the snake. Wherever he placed his foot, the water would freeze and he somehow covered the long distance in a few steps.


    As soon as he got on top of the body of the snake, he swiped down, tearing a long slit with his claws.


    The frown that appeared on Bibi¡¯s face after that was really frightening. Just looking at his face now made anyone feel a chill down their spine.


    "Where is the snake heart?" Bibi asked no one in particular. That was because the chamber that was supposed to house the snake heart was heart-less.


    He reached down to take what was there in place of the heart. The snake¡¯s blood stuck to his hand as he brought up a bloody stone.


    This stone had a peculiar marking engraved on it, similar to the stone that had been producing electricity at the bottom of the river.


    "Hmmm," Bibi turned to Kael who was leisurely walking over, he had a satisfied smile on his face.


    "Do you have anything to do with this?" Bibi asked.


    "Yes," Kael said, he senses that it would be counterproductive to tell a lie at this point.


    "Why?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Relax, there are a lot of hearts to go around. However, given that I¡¯m the one who initiated this alliance, shouldn¡¯t I be privileged to get the first loot?"


    Bibi thought of Kael¡¯s words and they were not out of place. The mountain still has some high-level creatures that will eventually fall by their hands.


    However, he wasn¡¯t too fond of Kael doing things without his consent. Since Kael gave an explanation, he decided not to think too much about it.


    "At least, let my wolves feast on the corpse," Bibi said, then without Kael¡¯s confirmation, turned and nodded his head to the wolves who were looking at him eagerly.


    As soon as they got the confirmation, the wolves dug in. The meat was tough but the energy it contained made up for that.


    Kael looked at this with Priya and Olivia by his side. "Feel free to find a place to rest in the meantime. I¡¯m going to check up on those we left at the cave."


    Bibi waved his hand casually at Kael, "Okay, I¡¯ll soon be there," Bibi then turned to the green veggie wolf to converse privately.


    ####


    At the special clearing surrounded by six trees, each tree having complex magic engravings on them.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stood there in the center, a blue shimmering string extended from her finger to one of the trees.


    In her other hand was the bloody heart of a snake that had stopped beating, a really big one.


    And in front of N¡¯bay¨¦ stood a green-furred, black-horned lioness, Nalii.

 Chapter 65: Scaled Lion

    "Here, Kael asked that the next heart we get should be given to you," N¡¯bay¨¦ said as she brought her hand lower to place the snake heart on the ground.


    Nalii looked at the heart, then at N¡¯bay¨¦, "What about Katari?" She asked.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ paused, she obviously knew what Nalii was talking about. Everyone already assumed that Katari would be the next to evolve after Kael.


    She was the one who pursued it with all her might. Everyone expected Kael to hand over the next evolution opportunity to Katari.


    How would Katari feel if she knew that Kael gave the first high-tier heart that they got to Nalii instead of her?


    "This is what Kael wants, I¡¯m sure he already has plans to benefit Katari," N¡¯bay¨¦ said, inwardly hoping that Kael actually had plans for Katari.


    Just because the lionesses all chose to be loyal to Kael didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t keep malice among themselves. And Katari wasn¡¯t the kind of person anyone should keep malice with.


    Nalii sighed, then she took the heart into her mouth and walked away to eat it behind a tree.


    Soon, N¡¯bay¨¦ walked out of the clearing in her humanoid form. Packed on her arms was the sleeping body of a large green lioness.


    Her feet combined haste with elegance as she walked away from the clearing and the markings on the trees gradually stopped glowing.


    ####


    "Where¡¯s the heart?" Isaiah asked himself as he flew in between the fabric of space.


    He had seen the entire battle and wasn¡¯t that much fazed. Things like this happened a lot in the forest.


    The only thing that moved him was the number of ordinary wolves it took to take down one high-level snake of this caliber.


    With more than fifty wolves taking turns to munch on the body of the snake, it was eventually bitten to death.


    This was a reminder to not just him, but also Kael and Bibi that their power did not make them invincible. If they were swarmed by low-level creatures, it wasn¡¯t impossible to take them down.


    Even an elephant can be bitten to death if there are enough ants.


    However, Isaiah had hoped to take advantage of this battle to snatch the organ that held the most amount of energy, the snake heart.


    Although it won¡¯t be able to help him evolve, it would at least get him closer to it or enable him to go a long time without feeling hungry.


    Isaiah was a solitary person, so he didn¡¯t even have any fellow cranes he could share his heart with.


    Seeing Bibi bring out a stone instead of a heart got him confused. The satisfied expression on Kael¡¯s face was unsettling and he began to have a foreboding feeling.


    ¡¯This lion has a combination of war lion powers and electric powers, how is that possible?¡¯ Isaiah wondered as his eyes rested on Kael¡¯s departing figure.


    He looked at the wolves that were tearing apart the colossal body of the snake and at the white-haired man with a fluffy white tail swishing behind him.


    ¡¯We may clash in the future, we may not¡­¡¯ With that, Isaiah flapped his wings within the thin layers of space and swiftly flew away.


    "Lord Bibi, did you get to understand the powers of that Kael?" The green wolf asked as he came over.


    Bibi was looking down at the divided corpse of the war wolf that had been slashed by the snake¡¯s water blade.


    "You said he used a spirit attack the first time you guys encountered him.


    Today, he didn¡¯t use any spirit attack like I thought, rather he exhibited a high level of physical might, like our War Wolf.


    He also had control of purple lightning. We need to always be on guard around him, he may not be lying to us but the secrets he keeps are many." Bibi said.


    He used his feet to kick away the top half of the wolf. The green wolf watched this with a calm expression.


    Wolves didn¡¯t like it when their fellow wolves died at the hands of another creature, so looking at the casualties of this battle left a bitter taste in their mouths.


    Bibi waited for his wolves to finish eating the snake, after which they left behind a long serpent skeleton.


    Meanwhile, Kael, Olivia, and Priya had come back to the water snake cave.


    They saw the wolves and lionesses, drenched from head to paw, resting at the cave entrance.


    They had gone in to fight but before they had the chance, they were almost drowned.


    Eidel and the fire wolves were already dry but they stayed extra far from the cave. Being out in a situation where they had lost their ability to produce fire was very traumatic to them.


    Once Kael came into view, the lionesses released a sigh of relief.


    Katari had her black eyes scanning the surroundings, she noticed the absence of Nalii, as did the rest but didn¡¯t think much of it.


    "Let¡¯s go back so we can rest," Kael said. He himself didn¡¯t mind going after the next neighbor as soon as possible, but his lionesses had to rest for them to be one hundred percent efficient.


    On their way back to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave, they picked up the scent of prey, causing Kael to make a slight detour away from the lionesses.


    His body blurred out of existence as space rippled faintly around him. The prey he eventually encountered were two noises, one mother and one child.


    The mother was big, standing nearly seven feet tall with large metal hooves. The child was still young and ordinary with two bumps on his head.


    Two black curved horns grew out of Kael¡¯s forehead as he activated the power of vegetation in the forest.


    The ears of the mother moose twitched but before she could react, a thick vine speared through her stomach and out of her back.


    The child who was close to a tree was stabbed by multiple branches and raised into the air by those branches.


    Swift and powerful.


    Kael walked over to the dead corpses. He slung the body of the dead moose offspring on his shoulder while he took hold of one of the hind legs of the mother moose.


    The next time the lionesses saw Kael, he was with two dead carcasses, looking like he had not just killed something that l. animals would find it impossible to touch.


    When they reached N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave, "You guys should eat up." Kael said as he dropped the two dead bodies for his lionesses before walking into the cave.


    This surprised them, they had thought that Kael would take one of the bodies for himself, but they didn¡¯t know that he had intended to give both to them.


    Again, their minds were brimming with pointless thoughts that spurred their confusion. The mixed signals Kael subconsciously gave, hovering between an uncaring boss and a thoughtful leader, made them think too much.


    Katari didn¡¯t take a bite out of the food though, instead, she followed Kael into the cave as she perceived Nalii¡¯s scent.


    #######


    Far away from the mountain, following the river where the battle with the water snake had occurred.


    The river, which was just a branch of the main river, joined a couple of other rivers that stretched far until it ended at the ocean, the original source of all rivers.


    On the beach that separated the forest from the river, dirt yellow sand stretched to the sides as far as the eye could see.


    Small waves continuously washed the shores accompanied by a cool breeze, bringing a moment of coolness under the sun.


    On the ocean that reflected the light of the sun, something was rushing over to the beach.


    The figure parted the water into two as it moved fast.


    Once the figure got to the shore, it jumped out of the water revealing the four-limbed creature.


    This was a lion, one that Kael would find familiar if he was here.


    This figure was as large as a tier 2 lion, with bluish-green scales covering its whole body.


    Instead of a mane, the lion had one large foldable fin that grew from the top of its head to the center of its back and his scaled tail ended in a wide oval-shaped blue fin.


    His webbed paws touched the sand fondly as the water slid down his scales. He took a deep breath, causing his nostrils and the gills on the sides of his neck to flare.


    ¡¯Land!¡¯ The lion thought as memories rolled through his mind.


    ¡¯Father, you chased me out for wanting what you had¡­¡¯ The lion mused as he looked behind him to see multiple figures rushing through the water to get to him.


    ¡¯You should have never let me go alive. Not only have I built myself up, I will now take what you have for myself!¡¯


    Out of the water jumped seven water lionesses, all looking exactly like the lion in everything but size. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unlike the male water lion, they didn¡¯t have a large foldable fin on their back, just small ridges that stretched from their head to their tail.


    The gills on their necks opened up as if gasping for air.


    ¡¯We can follow this river back.¡¯ The lion thought as he followed the smell of water to the river.


    This also happened to be the same river that would eventually lead to the small river branch near the mountain.


    If Kael was here, he would instantly be able to recognize this lion despite the scales that replaced the fur on his face.


    That¡¯s because this was a lion who he had grown up with, this was his brother in this world, this was Burdo.

 Chapter 66: Absolute Power Limit

    Kael stood inside the cave that was illuminated by the glowing magic runes in the wall and ceiling.


    He looked at the body of the lioness that was curled up at the end of the cave. The lioness slept soundly and safely, unaware of the humanoid figure watching over her.


    m


    Kael could observe that Nalii¡¯s body was growing, little by little. Her fur was becoming more vibrant and her horns seemed to be in the process of shedding its outer layer.


    "How long do you think this would take? Hope it won¡¯t be six months." Kael asked N¡¯bay¨¦ who was standing some distance behind him.


    She was currently busy drawing a complex rune circle on the wall. Her fingers moved elegantly as if they danced to a piece of soundless music.


    Anywhere her finger went, a green trail was left behind. Her claws would sometimes make cracks in the walls at the right moment, adding to the complexity of the rune formation.


    "I don¡¯t think so, I think her¡¯s should be less than a month at most," N¡¯bay¨¦ responded after some thought.


    "I don¡¯t like waiting this long for stuff like this," Kael grumbled with a frown.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ sighed, "That¡¯s just how things are, unfortunately, the lower the power levels a creature has, the longer it takes to evolve. That¡¯s just my theory."


    "Huh?" Kael turned around to look at N¡¯bay¨¦ weirdly, he also saw Katari come into the cave and sit close to them, listening to their conversation.


    She would also glance occasionally at Nalii¡¯s sleeping figure but there was not much reaction from her.


    Kael didn¡¯t pay attention to her for now as he was intrigued by what N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    "What?" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s heart beat faster as she noticed the intense gaze Kael was giving her. She assumed he wanted to have sex again and was about to lay on the floor to get into her favorite position.


    "What do you mean theory?" Kael asked.


    "Oh," N¡¯bay¨¦ stammered, then got herself into the right state of mind quickly. Her face became stoic as she said, "I have been observing many creatures in my spare time to understand how evolution works.


    It was originally just a study in my own effort to understand how I can evolve from a tier 2 lioness to a tier 3 lioness.


    And with almost no other tier 3 lioness nearby, I settled for studying other creatures.


    What I discovered really puzzled me.


    I found out that not every creature shared the same power system. Sure, we all had to awaken our hearts if we wanted access to the mystical powers within us, but there were differences.


    For example, rats were one of the easiest creatures I could find and study close enough. I¡¯ve had tracking runes placed on a lot of rats, with awakened hearts or not, so that I can monitor them better.


    I used to assume that a tier 2 rat had to be comparable in strength to a tier 2 lioness. I also thought the same for wolves, birds, and even the spiders.


    It wasn¡¯t until I compared the information that I found out that this wasn¡¯t the case. A tier 2 rat was not comparable to a tier 2 lion.


    Rather, a tier 2 lion was comparable tier 6 or tier 7 rat, depending on how strong the lion is." sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael tilted his head to the side as he listened to this interesting subject. He had also thought of this before but it was merely a shallow thought and didn¡¯t get past that.


    "That is to say¡­" Kael led on, wanting N¡¯bay¨¦ to continue.


    "That is, a tier 3 lion would be comparable in strength to a tier 10 or higher rat.


    I could only discover this by recording the number of evolutions the rats experienced before fighting or winning some certain creatures.


    This discovery led me to understand why the rats experienced such a short evolution period, they had more steps to climb so that was a trade-off.


    We on the other hand will become as powerful as a tier 10 rat the moment we become tier 3, it¡¯s somehow unfair on their part. And I think the longer evolution period is some sort of nature¡¯s intervention to balance it out.


    This way, the same amount of time it might take a lion to reach tier 3 is the same amount of time it would take a rat to reach tier 10.


    However, I may have confirmed that we don¡¯t share the same power system with other creatures, but I can¡¯t say for sure if it is a natural thing. Hence, why I am still studying.


    For now, I think it would be unwise to hastily judge the power level of any animal we encounter."


    Kael placed his fingers on his chin as he walked around while thinking, "You are really smart, no doubt about that. To have done this experiment on your own, take records, and come to these results, it¡¯s fascinating." Kael¡¯s words were filled with genuine praise.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ had a sweet smile plaster on her face. It wasn¡¯t every time someone actually complimented her on things like this. Usually, she did these things out of curiosity, not to seek validation from others. This praise really touched the emotional part of her psyche.


    "How are the wolves compared to us in terms of power level?" Kael asked.


    "Hmm, I would say roughly the same but with some disadvantages on the wolves¡¯ side.


    At our strongest, we could probably take on two or three wolves of the same tier, killing them is a lot harder though.


    I think there are some natural traits we have that the wolves will have to make up for with a few more evolutions in the future.


    This is just my conjecture, as I don¡¯t know how many tiers are required to reach the absolute limit of power." N¡¯bay¨¦ replied.


    Kael couldn¡¯t help but compare her to scientists on Earth. The way she talked, her mannerisms, her logical outlook on everything, and the understanding that she could be wrong. That was how a lot of scientists behaved on Earth.


    "So technically I should be able to beat Bibi in a fight?" Kael wondered out loud.


    "I¡¯m not sure, Bibi hasn¡¯t really shown much that I can judge with.


    You have to know that in a situation where brute force can¡¯t win, techniques and skill would make up for the difference.


    Bibi might not be as strong as you are when it comes to direct force, but if he is more skilled and has better techniques, you might not be able to defeat him, there¡¯s even a possibility that he could defeat you."


    "Hmm," Kael paused his steps, contemplating and readjusting his plans according to his knowledge.


    "Katari," Kael called to Katari who had been listening to their open conversation all this while.


    "Yes," Katari answered blandly.


    "Are you offended that I did not give you the snake heart?" Kael asked.


    Katari shook her head, "No,"


    "Do you feel that you should be taking offense, considering how close you and I are?" Kael asked again.


    Katari didn¡¯t answer at first, ¡¯Considering how close you and I are¡¯ what did that mean? She wondered.


    Before she could answer, Kael interrupted her, "I want you to understand that I need your skill at this moment, I can¡¯t afford to not have you by my side for now.


    Plus, Nalii¡¯s ability would be very useful for my plans when she becomes tier 3."


    Katari didn¡¯t say anything.


    "There are things that are better to be acted out than said. For now, let¡¯s focus on our current objective."


    With that, Kael walked away, heading to the entrance of the cave, leaving just N¡¯bay¨¦ and Katari by themselves.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ turned her head to focus on the runes she was inscribing on the walls.


    Katari just stared at her back, it was a really bad idea for anyone, including N¡¯bay¨¦, to turn their backs on Katari. But knowing N¡¯bay¨¦, she was never truly defenseless.


    "Do you love him?" N¡¯bay¨¦ was stunned by the question that suddenly entered her mind.


    She turned around to see Katari having an expression of emotion once again as her eyes had reverted to the normal colors from the inky-like black it was.


    She looked at N¡¯bay¨¦, expecting an answer.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ sighed, then answered with a question of hers, "Why do you ask such a thing?"


    Katari looked at Nalii¡¯s sleeping figure, "Kael is the only one who gives me the purpose I desire. Without him, without his words, without his presence, I feel empty.


    Perhaps, I don¡¯t understand what I feel for him, but I know that I feel something. Unlike you, I¡¯m not sure you even feel anything."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ smiled, "I do actually, I have feelings too. However, having feelings and acting on those feelings isn¡¯t the same thing.


    Just because I feel happy doesn¡¯t mean I would smile, just because I feel sad doesn¡¯t mean I would sulk. Should I cry when I feel pain? Do I have to scream when I¡¯m scared?


    I may seem logical and indifferent to most things most times, and I really am. That doesn¡¯t make me out of place when it comes to having emotions.


    You can say, I¡¯m just built differently." N¡¯bay¨¦ said with a sly smile


    Katari scoffed, "Kael is all I have, if he says stay, I will stay, and if he says kill, I will kill. He is the one holding me in place and giving me purpose.


    I cannot, and I must emphasize on this, I cannot¡­ tolerate any possible threats to his life or his goals."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ raised her hands playfully, not taking Katari¡¯s words seriously, "I¡¯m not a threat to Kael, you should know better Katari. If I was, he would be dead a long time ago.


    Besides, his goals are more fulfilling than any of mine."


    "Then why did you ignore my question?" Kateri sneered.


    "What question?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    "Do you love him?" Katari asked, raising her telepathic voice a bit.


    "What does that have to do with his goals?" N¡¯bay¨¦ wondered.


    "DO. YOU. LOVE. HIM?" Katari got up from the ground, seemingly ready to attack N¡¯bay¨¦ if she didn¡¯t give a satisfactory answer.


    Space began to ripple around her and N¡¯bay¨¦ could finally sense the seriousness with which Katari took this matter.


    "Love is a strong word, Katari!" N¡¯bay¨¦ finally responds, to which the crazy Katari receives with shocking hostility.

 Chapter 67: The Matter Of Love

    Katari was what some would call a crazy person, in its truest sense.


    And indeed, Katari was crazy, at least, her mind didn¡¯t run the same way others did.


    Like she said, Kael was the only one who gave her a sense of meaning in her life. It was like a traumatic bond, one that had been so ignored by everything, even Kael, when she was little.


    From the moment she started to hang out with Kael, she grew attached to him because of his lackluster attitude to address her properly.


    He might have given her brown rat meat and played with her in awkward manners but that was enough for the bond to establish.


    It could be said that she was imprinting on Kael, seeing him as a provider, even though she never understood that concept.


    Although she was clingy, Kael never bothered to chase her away, causing her to become more attached. It got to the stage where Kael¡¯s absence from her sight made her feel lonely.


    When their father had tried to harm Kael, she had impulsively stood up to him, although her efforts were supported by Nalii, Priya, and Diane at that time


    Following that was some sort of stigma from the remaining pride members. Even her mother began to interact less with her and focused more on mating with the pride leader to have a new child.


    In an alternate timeline, this would have spelled doom for Katari as neglect from the mother could easily cause the cub to die from not being protected or cared for.


    With no one to shield her or teach her how to hunt, she would have eventually died and become forgotten in the harsh land of these wild creatures.


    Only Kael was staying beside her at that moment. He led her on their own little private hunts where she could learn how to use her space powers in the field.


    The art of stealth, Kael would show her how it could best be used for hunting. A good amount of the skills she learned, she learned it with Kael by her side.


    Kael was flawed by his inability to express himself emotionally, his words when trying to show he cared could sound bland. But she preferred Kael like that, she preferred that the only words to come from him were orders on what she should and shouldn¡¯t do.


    Kael was not just a step-brother or the pride leader, he was her life pillar, without whom she would probably sink into a spiral of depression before losing her sense of self and potentially becoming a monster.


    She now understood how her mother had felt for her own pride leader. She was aware that even if she had children for Kael in the near future, they would never hold as much importance as he does in her heart.


    Alas, she was a lioness, not a human, much couldn¡¯t be expected of her in the subject of the mind as hers were simple.


    There was never a moment where she voluntarily removed her senses from Kael. It was either she had his scent or he was in her line of sight or she could hear his footsteps.


    If she couldn¡¯t be close to him at any given moment, it was not of her own will.


    Even now, as she lunged at N¡¯bay¨¦, her senses were still trained on Kael.


    Her body hit the transparent barrier surrounding N¡¯bay¨¦. Space twisted around her claws as she scratched relentlessly.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ frowned, taking note of the crazy look in Katari¡¯s eyes. She could see it, Katari really intended to kill her.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ raised her leg to send a swift kick at Katari¡¯s exposed belly. Immediately, Katari was sent flying until she hit the wall on the other side.


    She slid down the wall, leaving some cracks on it and she landed on her four limbs in a crouching position. Her eyes never left N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s form.


    Space blended around her as she disappeared from view. N¡¯bay¨¦ frowned harder, this wasn¡¯t as trivial as she thought.


    "Are you seriously fighting me because I don¡¯t love Kael?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked as the runes on her body lit up, trying to determine the presence of the lioness.


    "Anyone who doesn¡¯t love him can betray him!" Katari snarled. N¡¯bay¨¦ waved her hand in the direction she heard the voice.


    A blue flame arc sped in that direction but hit nothing but the wall.


    "That¡¯s not how love works, Katari. Just because I don¡¯t love him doesn¡¯t mean I would betray him.


    I already see him as my pride leader and I even mate with him occasionally. The chances of him being the father of my children are certain by now, why would I betray him?"


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s words only seemed to make Katari more angry and therefore more crazy.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ hurriedly stepped aside just in time to avoid an invisible flying claw slash that sliced into the wall behind her. Looking at the wall, N¡¯bay¨¦ could tell that her barrier would not have defended her from that attack.


    "Are you perhaps angry that Kael likes me?


    Or you¡¯re mad that I might become the first mother?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked, trying to get into the mind of Katari.


    Katari let out a skull-tingling chuckle, "No, I¡¯m angry that you do not love him. You do not deserve his affection if you cannot reciprocate."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ stretched her hand to the side to catch the fur of the invisible lioness. She held Katari up by the scruff of her neck using her tremendous arm strength.


    "So you are jealous?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    Katari didn¡¯t answer, instead, she teleported out of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s grasp. Katari knew that N¡¯bay¨¦ wasn¡¯t taking this fight as seriously as she should, if not she would have incapacitated her before she could even turn invisible.


    "Listen, I may not love Kael, but I will learn to. I have no choice but to learn how to genuinely love him if I want to coexist with him for a long time." N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    Still, Katari didn¡¯t answer.


    "Your understanding of what love is may be flawed because I know that it¡¯s not something that can be forced, it needs time.


    I could have lied to you and told you yes the first time, you would believe me because that is what you want to hear.


    But what would be the point, lies need to be supported by lies and it creates a place of discomfort. I don¡¯t want this pride to be a place of discomfort for me.


    Kael¡¯s goals are my goals, you can rest assured. But mundane things like love which in my opinion is nothing more than a necessary hindrance, cannot be forced.


    I may look like a threat, but maybe that¡¯s because you¡¯re not strong enough to not care about it."


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s last words were like a heavy blow to Katari¡¯s heart. She remained silent but her desire to attack diminished by a lot.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ continued, "We are all focused on getting stronger, and here you are, causing inner turmoil.


    Do you think Kael would be happy to see you do this? To see you fight me?


    There is a long period of prosperity and luxury ahead of us if we can all stick to our objective. Every other thing will naturally come to us, including this love you speak of.


    Speaking of which, maybe you should also ask Kael if he loves you. Ask him if he actually loves any of us, using your own definition of love."


    Katari stared at N¡¯bay¨¦, her eyes glazed over as her mind began to get occupied by something else. Of course, she never intended to ask Kael if he loved them.


    She knew that she wouldn¡¯t like his answer.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time to ask such a question.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ sighed as she heard the footsteps that Katari purposely revealed as she walked out of the cave.


    She really didn¡¯t want to be forced to hurt Katari. At the same time, she was worried. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Katari ever became a tier 3 lion, she would be troublesome. She shuddered just thinking of the unpredictability and power Katari at Tier 3 would possess.


    ¡¯I need to make preparations.¡¯ She thought to herself then returning to the rune she was drawing on the wall before Katari interrupted her.


    And through all this, Nalii slept soundly, her body growing bigger little by little.


    ####


    Outside, the lionesses were lying under the clouded sky, letting their bodies rest after the meal.


    Kael rested his head on Olivia¡¯s chubby body, using her as a pillow as he gazed at the clouds.


    His ears picked up Katari¡¯s steps as she walked out of the cave. Because of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s runes that she drew on the walls recently, no one could tell what was happening inside the cave from outside. So he didn¡¯t hear anything that had happened before Katari walked out.


    Kael continued to daydream. He imagined a day when he would stand at the top of the mountain, and his roar would cause the creatures of the world to bow.


    He imagined dividing the mountain among the lions of the clan he wanted to build. He imagined the luxurious life he and his consorts would have.


    He imagined achieving all that the previous Primordial Lions couldn¡¯t.


    ¡¯Soon,¡¯ he thought, closing his eyes to better visualize his future and maybe sleep off.


    However, Kael would never have thought that the dream he was about to have would reveal a chilling piece of information to him.

 Chapter 68: DRAGONS

    Kael once again appeared in the memory space, where the ethereal figures of the eight previous Primordial Lions were present.


    He looked at each of them, trying to decide which one¡¯s memories he would check this time.


    It had been some time since he actively tried to experience the memories of his predecessors.


    The last time he did, it had led to him having an identity problem, causing him to attack his lionesses.


    Since then, he had evolved into tier 3 and had gotten stronger, he felt that he would be able to handle it.


    After some thinking, he decided to settle with Noel¡¯s. Kael was very curious about the lives of the lions before Noel, but checking them wasn¡¯t really practical at the moment.


    Noel and Derylia were the two Primordial lions closest to his era. Whatever happened during their time would have some lingering effects on the current generation of lions.


    The rest, however, had lives that had been lived long ago. Even if there were actions that they did to affect Kael¡¯s time, it wouldn¡¯t be significant.


    With that thought, he focused his attention on Noel¡¯s golden figure. Sometimes, Kael would be forced to experience memories he had already experienced before. He hoped that this time he would see something new.


    ####


    Noel stood in his lion form in a barren land. The soil beneath his large paws had completely lost its ability to be fertile.


    His golden mane waved erratically in the harsh wind, giving him an imposing appearance.


    Behind him, as far as the ordinary eye could see, were lions and lionesses. Hordes of them, terrifying and vicious, their numbers were innumerable.


    Lions of different lionhearts were present, big and small. There were more lionesses than lions but that was irrelevant, the number of lions alone couldn¡¯t be estimated.


    The most shocking thing about this was that all of them had powerful auras that would make any creature not dare to look at them. From the aura alone, one could tell that the weakest lion or lioness in this army was tier 3.


    Yet despite the power each of them possessed, they had a look of weariness on their face. Their eyes were filled with uncertainty as they looked up at the sky, staring at the same thing Noel was looking at.


    Far up above, the blue sky had shattered¡­literally. Space fragments, mirror-looking pieces of reality, orbited around a dark portal with fractured edges.


    The dark portal seemed to breathe in and out as its gravitational force would rhythmically pull on objects before letting them go.


    The portal had an aura of oppressiveness as if anything coming out of it was already expecting all creatures to bow before it made its appearance.


    Noel, whose eyes could see past the dark visage of the portal, thundered, "They are coming!"


    His words made the lions readjust their stance as they prepared themselves for battle. Some even had their bodies shaking, not from fear, but anxiousness. They were not sure if they would win this battle.


    *WHOOSH!*


    A figure shot out of the portal gate, followed by another, then another, then another. All of them were of immense size.


    Some had scales of varying colors, black, white, green, red, blue, and more. Four powerful limbs that ended in sharp claws and two or more large bat-like wings on their backs.


    Their horse-like heads were adorned with horns and most of them had flames leaking out of their nostrils.


    Dragons.


    Their numbers, just as innumerable as the lions, covered the sky. Each of them released shrill and deep roars, roars that carried a hint of their oversized ego.


    The lions below, not willing to be outdone, began to roar to the sky. The combined roars of so many powerful lions shook the earth and caused space to shift.


    For some time, the two sides did nothing but roar at each other. They were waiting, stalling, some could already tell they wouldn¡¯t survive to tell tales about this war.


    The dragons dared not fly down to meet these lions who were just as terrifying as they were.


    "Enough!" Noel shouted. Instantly, the lions seized their roars. The dragons also stopped roaring, seeing their enemies suddenly go quiet.


    Noel turned to the vast horde of lions, "In another timeline, we could have been allies with them.


    Yet, the foolish mistakes of my predecessor have come back to haunt us all. The abomination has turned his claws at us and the dragons support him.


    Our own blood wishes to see our demise, he wishes for our extinction. Worst of all, they have hindered us from completing The Conquering, and we cannot forgive them for this.


    He has made his judgment and has sentenced us to extinction.


    Well, let us see who goes extinct first."


    Noel¡¯s words were not meant to boost their morale, for this kind of battle, there was no need to. All of the fighters involved knew the reality of what was going to happen, no need to sugarcoat it.


    "FOR THE CONQUERING!" Noel roared to the sky, never had his voice sounded so majestic yet full of melancholy and sorrow.


    "FOR THE CONQUERING!"


    "FOR THE CONQUERING!"


    "FOR THE CONQUERING!"


    The chants of the lions shook the souls of the dragons. What was The Conquering?


    Something that shouldn¡¯t be allowed for the sake of peace to reign in the universe. That was all.


    Then a deep and malicious voice sounded out from the portal, "KILL!"


    Upon receiving their commands, the dragons flapped their enormous wings, swooping down to engage the lions.


    The unified flapping of wings dispersed the clouds instantly and the combined killing intent of dragons pressed down on the mind of the lions.


    Noel, seeing this, erupted with tangible might.


    His muscles expanded, almost about to explode. His fur straightened and his eyes glowed.


    Two magnificent golden wings sprouted from his back, two black-gold demon-like horns grew out of his forehead.


    His long lion tail split into five, and at the end of each tail was a flame of different color.


    Noel¡¯s aura began to rise and thicken, the earth beneath him cracked just from trying to handle the rising mass of his existence.


    Noel flapped his wings, shooting to the sky like a beam of light. The lions behind him needed not to be told twice, their blood was already boiling so bad that they needed to vent even if it cost them their life.


    One after the other, billions of lions shot to the sky with whatever means they had. The air lions spread their wings, the fire lions turned into jet streams, the space lions teleported.


    Thorny vines and water whips burst out of the earth like a curtain that wanted to divide the land. Pyramids with terrifying gravitational pull were erected.


    Battleships with magic rune inscriptions rose their forms, pointing their cannons at the only enemies in sight.


    The resounding roars of the two forces reached the heavens and even the usually indifferent gods peered down to watch.


    Next was a battle that broke numerous worlds¡­literally.


    Kael, who observed from a third-person perspective, could barely make sense of what was happening after the two sides clashed.


    There was a bright light, then nothing, and then he saw existence shatter into nothingness before rebuilding itself.


    Planets with humongous claw marks that stretched through continents flashed in his vision.


    From his point of view, it was as if the battlefields were being transported from one place to another.


    Kael caught the scene of a giant red dragon opening its mouth and releasing a blast of fire that hit a lion and sent him deep into the planet¡¯s crust. Then the red dragon dissolved into meat paste all of a sudden.


    The more Kael looked, the more he didn¡¯t understand what was happening. Chaotic, too chaotic.


    Barely an hour had passed, and the casualties and lives that had been lost were already incomprehensible.


    Lifeforms who knew nothing about the war died before they even understood what was happening. It was either a dragon crashed on their continent, shaking the planet, or a lion engaging in battle and anything weaker than them died in the crossfire.


    Planets had been dragged out of orbits and warped to the battlefield to make up for the damaged landmass, at least, that¡¯s what it looked like to Kael.


    Tier 3 lions were worse than cannon fodders, dying in droves like ants.


    Noel tore through the mass of dragons, leaving behind, blood clouds, torn limbs, and broken wings, floating in the void.


    He raced to the dark portal, a wrathful expression on his face, "Abomination! FIGHT ME!"


    More dragons with unknown power levels rushed to block his path but their fates were the same. Torn to shreds after a flash of golden light.


    "FOR THE SAKE OF THE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF LIONS, I CONDEMN YOU!"


    The strings of reality broke as Noel forcefully flew faster than the speed of light, shattering the hidden dimensions around him.


    With a loud boom, Noel shot into the portal, entering the home of the dragons.


    A lot of lions and lionesses who caught sight of this had sorrowful expressions, their eyes were watery yet they kept on fighting.


    #####


    Kael sat up from his lying position, breathing hard. Sweat drenched his body and his hair stuck to his head.


    He took deep breaths to calm down, rearranging his mind to focus on the present.


    He looked around with a vigilant gaze, observing the resting lionesses.


    Whether intentional or not, Kael had once again been reminded of his power or lack thereof.


    Tier 3 lions like him were the ones who were killed in the trillions. The ability to survive on that battlefield required a power level that was still far from him.


    Just when his arrogance was being built, this memory surfaced.


    Tears slid down his cheeks against his will as his heart was fillwd with a sorrow that threatened to drown him.


    He wasn¡¯t crying intentionally, It¡¯s just that in the last moments of the memory, he could feel the inner pain Noel felt as he affirmed himself if the sacrifice he was going to make.


    A sacrifice that would cost him.


    After some thought, Kael calmed down, he wiped the tears from his face. He stood up from Olivia¡¯s side, he could no longer sleep. This particular dream revealed a lot of information to him.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦¡­" Before he left, he called for N¡¯bay¨¦, he needed to vent. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 69: Treachery

    In Derylia¡¯s memory, she was among dragons and was even having a taboo romantic relationship with one of these dragons.


    Although, from the context, both lions and dragons didn¡¯t show much approval for this relationship.


    There was also the fact that she somehow got pregnant. A Primordial lioness, pregnant with what most in the universe would consider an anomaly, for a dragon.


    Kael wasn¡¯t yet sure of what eventually happened to Derylia and her child, but it seemed there might be some continuation in Noel¡¯s memories.


    Kael pulled his rod out of N¡¯bay¨¦ and lay down next to her. The both of them were currently lying in the center of the magic clearing surrounded by six trees.


    Despite how open this place was, there had never been anyone who accidentally wandered into it. The power of magic was simply marvelous.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ snuggled up, resting her head on Kael¡¯s broad chest, unaware of the thoughts flowing through his head.


    ¡¯Our blood wishes to see our demise,¡¯ Kael quoted Noel in his mind, ¡¯What does that mean? He also called it ¡¯The abomination¡¯ and said something about ¡¯My Predecessor¡¯s Mistakes.¡¯


    His direct predecessor would be Derylia.¡¯


    Kael sighed, feeling an illusory headache coming up. He felt a sense of urgency.


    Who was the victor of that war, and who was the one who came out on top?


    If the lions had won, he wouldn¡¯t have been born on this wild world.


    If the dragons had won, they would have carried out their goal to wipe out the lion race. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The lion race still existed, so the dragons didn¡¯t win. But none could say that the lion race won either.


    There was still a lack of information.


    Kael was beginning to wonder about the significance of what he was doing in this world. He hadn¡¯t even taken over the mountain fully.


    ¡¯The mountain,¡¯


    Kael got up, leaving N¡¯bay¨¦ behind and walking into the forest.


    Flames washed over him, briefly lighting up his position and burning away all the sticky substance on him.


    He walked for a few minutes, covering some distance before he stopped.


    "Show yourself," Kael said, his voice spreading out as a telepathic wave.


    Soon, a large wolf appeared out of the darkness. Grey fur and a muscular body indicated that this was a War Wolf.


    "So YOU are Bibi IV?" Kael said as the wolf got closer.


    "Yes, I am. Did you mistake me for someone else?" The wolf said, sounding a little bit annoyed.


    Kael deliberately ignored the tone in which this wolf spoke. There were originally eight large wolves.


    Three of them were fire wolves, two were war wolves, one was a spirit wolf, one was a veggie wolf, and one was an ice wolf.


    One of the war wolves had died in the fight against the water snake. The ice wolf was none other than Bibi V, Bibi III¡¯s daughter. The veggie wolf was the green wolf that served as Bibi III¡¯s assistant.


    Kael assumed that one of the three fire wolves was Bibi¡¯s son, he was wrong.


    Bibi IV was the second war wolf.


    "I thought wolves usually gave birth in litters. How come there¡¯s only you two?" Kael asked with a provocative grin on his face.


    Bibi IV scoffed, "Let¡¯s get down to business, please." He could only try his best to be respectful while holding on to his ego.


    Left to him, he wouldn¡¯t be here if it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    "Okay," Kael folded his arms as he slowly circled around the wolf, "So you want to become the leader of the Bibi clan, how wonderful.


    But won¡¯t you have to defeat your father?"


    "Look, stop beating around the bush okay? You were the one who sneakily told me that you could help me become the leader." Bibi IV frowned and said.


    "Yes yes yes, I did." Kael laughed. "A little bird told me about your desire. I just have a question before we proceed.


    You¡¯re the heir, next in line to inherit the leadership position. Why would you want to conspire to take it earlier than it should be."


    Bibi IV calmed down, shaking his head, he said, "That¡¯s what everyone on the outside thinks.


    I was supposed to be next in line, that was until my sister was born and became an ice wolf. My father has favored her ever since.


    My sister has a higher chance of becoming the clan leader than me. The funny thing is that the small pack leaders will follow whatever my father says, after all, he is their benefactor.


    Another thing you guys are forgetting is that my father is already a tier 3 wolf and has a longer lifespan. By the time he¡¯s old and ready to hand over his position, I would already be long dead.


    I can¡¯t wait, I want to be in charge as soon as possible."


    "Hmm," Kael placed his fingers on his sharp chin, feigning thoughtfulness. "It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t help you, but what do I get in return." He asked.


    "Oh please, I could already guess that you never had good intentions for my father. He too never had good intentions for you. Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re going to be doing me a favor." Bibi IV said, annoyed.


    "I AM doing you a favor. I could kill your father, then kill you. Or do you think you can stop me?" Kael asked with a malicious smile as his golden eyes stared at the wolf intensely.


    Bibi IV shivered slightly but didn¡¯t say anything.


    "Here¡¯s what¡¯s going to happen. I will work on a way to kill your father, then you will take over from him.


    However, your clan and all the wolves in it are to come under my rule as soldiers for the wolf soldier caste.


    After that, you shall be given the title of Leader of Wolf Soldiers. You may not understand its significance now but that¡¯s not important.


    Is that understood?"


    Kael reached down to touch the head of the war wolf. He ran his fingers through the grey fur and scratched the back of his neck like he was a dog.


    He wanted to bargain but found that he had no way to do so. Kael may have been the one to initiate the idea but he also held all the power.


    "If you don¡¯t value the position you can say so. If you don¡¯t value your life, you can let me know right now." Kael said. The golden claws at the end of his fingers almost penetrated Bibi IV¡¯s skin.


    "I understand," Bibi IV said with the straightest face he could muster.


    A Primordial Record screen appeared in front of Bibi IV. The wolf, not putting up any resistance, had his identity mark added to the list.


    Kael laughed then took his hand off the wolf¡¯s neck. "See, that wasn¡¯t so hard. It¡¯s a win-win situation.


    And we are sure to win because I have something Bibi III doesn¡¯t have. I have someone on the inside, I have you."


    With that, Kael walked away, heading back to where he came from. Bibi IV stared at his back wearily, contemplating the decision he just made.


    But he had no choice, if he didn¡¯t look for a way now, his father would end up giving the position to his junior sister. And if that didn¡¯t happen, he would just die without achieving anything while his father remains the leader.


    The leadership position was just too tempting to let go. The kind of privileges that came with it were worth staging a coup for.


    ¡¯They will understand.¡¯ Bibi IV said to himself.


    As Kael walked, he shook his head, ¡¯Greed, no matter the race, will always prevail.


    As long as it works out in my favor, I¡¯m not complaining."


    The satisfied smile on his face was wiped clean as he snapped his head back to stare at the sky.


    Right there, up in the sky, there was a white flash, like a crack. It went just as soon as it came, but Kael saw it very clearly.


    He had a feeling of familiarity come over him as if something was calling him. Before he could hold on to that feeling, it went away.


    A confused expression appeared on Kael¡¯s face as he looked at the clouds, waiting for something to happen, but everything remained still.


    Kael sighed, something big was going to happen, he had a gut feeling about it. He just didn¡¯t know when it would happen.


    He continued on his way to the cave. There he saw that most of the lionesses were still resting.


    Katari sat up once Kael came close and Kael walked to her.


    "It is time for us to begin, I¡¯m going to need you, especially at this time," Kael said.


    Katari nodded rather quickly, feeling excited all of a sudden.


    "Here¡¯s what we are going to do¡­"


    Meanwhile, up on the mountain, Bibi III was busy having a conversation with someone who was supposed to be his enemy.


    And the main topic in this discussion was none other than Kael.


    This very night, the atmosphere became unusually filled with the stench of treachery.

 Chapter 70: Fur And Quills

    The next day, Kael and Bibi III were making their way to the next cave that they were going to raid.


    The wolves and lionesses surrounded them with most of them leading the way.


    However, before they could get there, the ground trembled consistently. They reached the cave entrance, which was large and had claw marks around the edges.


    The stench of blood filled the air, satisfying to some and discomforting to the rest. Especially when they were smelling the blood of their fellow wolves.


    A deep guttural growl echoed from within the cave. There were no slow gradual footsteps, rather, it was the sound of something heavy running, and it was running fast.


    A gigantic paw with long pointy claws shot out from the cave entrance.


    One of the wolves who had been too close was unfortunate to be hit by this paw. His whole body was slapped down by this gigantic paw and split in two. The hind part of the wolf was squashed under the might of the paw into a bloody mess.


    The rest of the wolf balanced on its front legs for a moment, not yet understanding the gravity of what was happening. With a plop sound, he fell to the side with his guts spilling out and his eyes staring at his comrades lifelessly.


    The owner of the paw revealed herself, thick fluffy brown fur that covered her, long fangs that edged out of her mouth, and a body riddled with scars.


    The beast released a roar that caused the ground to vibrate and the wolves to shiver.


    She was absolutely massive, standing nearly three meters on all fours.


    "A fucking bear!" Kael lamented, and it was a war bear from the looks of it.


    Bibi III narrowed his eyes coldly, "Let¡¯s get this over with and focus on the next enemy," He waved his hand, causing first to gather into a string of fine cold blades.


    With another wave of his hand, the blades circled back before shooting off to the bear.


    The ice blades broke into pieces upon contact with the tough hide of the bear. Instead of damaging the bear, the action only seemed to provoke her.


    Enraged, she ran at the wolf army, plowing through them like a harvester of life.


    Kael¡¯s nose twitched, and he could smell two distinct scents coming from the cave, they were very similar to the bear¡¯s.


    ¡¯Oh,¡¯ He said to himself before stylishly jumping away and avoiding a claw attack.


    The battle had begun and the bear knew the people she should focus her attention on were the two humanoids here.


    "Be careful, she is a mother," Kael briefly said, but he sent this message privately. He was sure that Bibi had already known about this from the scent yet refrained from saying anything.


    "She¡¯s a big target, all we need is to wear her down, no need to sacrifice your life by getting too close," Bibi shouted to the wolves.


    The wolves seemed to have experience with dealing with bears. They would only attack when the bear¡¯s hind side was facing them, the fire wolves and others who had long-range attacks stood at a distance to attack the wolf.


    The bear stood on its hind legs, assuming a very intimidating height. Her muscles swelled as she roared, nearly bursting the eardrums of the weaker wolves.


    Then she dropped down, focusing all her weight and strength on her front paws.


    *BOOM*


    The strength of a war bear could not be ignored, the stone ground exploded, sending pieces of stones flying everywhere.


    A lot of wolves were hit by the flying stones, dying immediately as their bodies were pierced and turned into bloody sieves.


    The original hundred-odd wolves that had come with Bibi had now been reduced to seventy-odd.


    Bibi would occasionally throw ice blades at the bear, he wasn¡¯t attacking with his full might and Kael noticed this.


    Kael stayed behind, having a detached view of the battle scene and giving instructions to his lionesses to help them avoid the bear¡¯s death strikes.


    Katari wasn¡¯t participating in this battle as she was nowhere to be found.


    *SWISH!*


    A faint yellow halo shone brightly for a brief second.


    Kael snapped his head to the side as something brushed past his head at a terrifying speed.


    "Hmm," Kael reached up to run his fingers over his cheeks. He brought his fingers up to his eye level to see dark red blood staining them.


    He looked behind him to see a dark grey metal spike, lodged firmly into the ground. Kael frowned harder and noticed that the spike was still vibrating.


    That yellow halo that sometimes flashed on Olivia¡¯s body, appeared on him again at this moment.


    His hand shot up fast to catch another metal spike just before it pierced through his head.


    Kael¡¯s palm felt numb for a few milliseconds. He shifted his gaze to where the spike came from, not seeing anything at first.


    Then the second hand moved fast to stop another metal spike aimed at his abdomen.


    This time, he could clearly see where the spike came from.


    A large porcupine the size of a normal wolf sat comfortably in between a couple of rocks. The sharp metal quills on its back quivered like arrows about to be released.


    The porcupine¡¯s eyes widened as it saw Kael consecutively evade all three of its shots.


    One of two quills on its back bent forward, aiming its shiny tip at Kael, and then it fired.


    Kael, as if waiting for the moment after release, jumped. In one leap, he reached a height of close to fifty meters, effectively dodging the metal quill.


    Kael¡¯s cold eyes filled with killing intent were locked on the porcupine. As his body reached its climax in the air, just before he began to fall back to the ground, flames and lightning began to coat his form.


    With the powerful jet flames as a driving force, Kael shot down like a meteor.


    Frightened, the porcupine cartoonishly stumbled out of the way. It thought of aiming its quills at the incoming sure-death attack but common sense told it that both sides would come out with injuries Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *BOOM!*


    The human-shaped flaming meteor struck the ground, causing an explosion forming a crater, and sending large pieces of stones flying out.


    Not just stones, but arcs of purple electricity struck out of the briefly formed crater.


    The porcupine, with its metal quills, was like a white cloth in the dark. The electric arcs swiftly dug into his body through the metal quills.


    Then there was the searing heat that came after. From this attack alone, one could tell that Kael wasn¡¯t in his usual mood. The overreaching flames seemed to want to express the wrath that couldn¡¯t be shown on his face.


    The sudden explosion attracted the attention of the wolves and lionesses. Bibi looked at this with a calm expression.


    "Everyone, focus on the bear, Kael would handle the other one." He commanded the wolves.


    He wasn¡¯t as focused on the bear fight as before, dividing his attention to observe Kael and the porcupine.


    The lionesses were somewhat confused, but they returned to focus on the bear after receiving a command from Kael.


    The flames died down to reveal not a humanoid, but a majestic golden lion.


    His full mane swished magnificently and his size spoke of power. Kael boldly stepped out of the crater, his lion face masked by an animalistic expression.


    Kael lunged straight at the porcupine, not allowing it any chance to react. The porcupine in return ran away, not from fear but to create distance between him and Kael.


    Metal quills were shot rapidly at Kael and he managed to dodge some quills.


    The porcupine jumped out of the way just as Kael pounced at where he was and broke the ground into pieces. The porcupine turned in the air, aiming its metal quills downward.


    A rain of metal spikes descended down to Kael, seeking to turn him into a lin cushion.


    When the porcupine landed it was to saw to its dismay that all the metal quills had stopped above Kael, losing all their kinetic energy. They seemed to have been stopped by the same force that the porcupine used.


    Kael brushed out of the curtain of metal quills, his hind legs exploding with strength to lush him faster than before.


    He caught up to the porcupine before it could react and a large paw, adorned with golden metal claws and surrounded with orange flames slammed down on the porcupine¡¯s head.


    The porcupine turned its head to the side instinctively, mitigating the force it received.


    Still, its head was smashed into the ground and its senses were disoriented.


    Luckily for the porcupine, his instinctive reaction caused Kael to land his paw on the neck which was full of metal spikes.


    Kael let out a painful roar, two metal quills were currently pierced through his paw and they hurt a lot.


    The porcupine broke its head out of the ground, if not for its strong body and metal skeleton, it would have died from that hit.


    "Bibi, you idiot, help me out!" The porcupine shouted telepathically to his supposed ally.


    Bibi, who had been observing the fight from the corner of his eyes, suddenly made a move.


    His arms waved swiftly, like a furious fairy. From his arms, a cold air spread.


    The surroundings swiftly changed from a warm atmosphere to a very cold one.


    Snow began to fall from nowhere and the floor was covered in frost. Bibi III had transformed the environment to suit his advantage.


    This transformation affected both friends and foes, but the intention was clear as day to Kael.

 Chapter 71: Cold

    A creeping cold penetrated Kael¡¯s body, tingling his spine and causing him to involuntarily shiver.


    A thin layer of snow covered the ground, like a holy white carpet, the stains of the world absent from it.


    As Kael¡¯s breath shot out from his flared nostrils in the form of white steam, his aura began to build up.


    Using his mouth, he pulled the two metal quills out of his paw, letting the blood drip down and stain the pristine white snow.


    He looked down to see ice slowly climbing up his limbs. It looked like this was merely a wide area of effect move but it was principally focused on Kael.


    He could feel his joints aching and his limbs felt numb. "If it has come to this, why not just tear away all pretense," Kael said.


    His words were not privately delivered but echoed in the minds of all present, causing a lot of confusion. Who was he talking to?


    Bibi IV, Bibi III¡¯s son, was looking at all of this with a cold disposition. As a war wolf, he was mostly effective in close combat, and fighting the war bear up close was nothing short of suicide.


    He used this as an excuse to observe the battlefield from afar, looking for an opportunity to act.


    Despite Kael¡¯s snarl, there was a bit of excitement in his eyes as he registered his enemies. On one side was the porcupine, and on the other side was Bibi III.


    Since he became a tier 3 existence, he had never had the chance to test out just how powerful he had become. Nothing had pushed him to the limits yet.


    His golden fangs bared, long and threatening. His mane stood on end and his body began to swell. His muscles expanded and compacted, and his bones elongated too.


    His claws grew out longer and jagged and two long fangs shot down from his upper jaw.


    Intricate magic runes lit up on different parts of his body. From his head to his tail, there were magic runes. But compared to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s, his runes were scanty and not as complex.


    At the same time, electricity filled every cell in his body, enhancing his reaction time and explosiveness by multiple factors.


    Two horns grew out of his head, green and golden lines intertwined on them. At the end of his tail, where a tuft of hair should be, was a bright orange flame that matched the ones on his paws.


    The snow beneath his feet melted fast, like demons that came in contact with holy water.


    Kael lowered his body, his belly almost touching the cold stone ground. His golden eyes mixed with a fortune yellow focused on the porcupine.


    The porcupine had his metal quills aimed at Kael, but compared to his enemy, his aura was lacking. Even the power of frost that was barraging Kael¡¯s body seemed to be ineffective.


    *SWOOSH!*


    The porcupine released three metal spikes fast. Kael didn¡¯t dodge, allowing the three spikes to easily pierce through his body.


    The porcupine frowned, not thinking this would be so easy.


    Kael didn¡¯t act like he had just been pierced by three one-meter-long spikes, instead, his body began to fade, slowly becoming transparent like a stone statue turning to dust in the wind.


    "Illusion!" The porcupine realized quickly, but it was too late.


    *BAM!*


    Space rippled as a massive paw appeared out of thin air and hit the porcupine square in the face.


    The porcupine was sent flying, involuntarily releasing a multitude of quills as he momentarily lost his sense of self.


    Before he landed, another hit landed on his head, coming from below like an uppercut slap.


    Like a rag doll, the porcupine backflipped in the air multiple times before crashing to the side of the mountain. When the porcupine came to his senses, he noticed that he now had his unprotected belly exposed.


    Before he could right himself, multiple thick vines burst out of the mountainside behind him and wrapped around his limbs and abdomen, binding him to remain in his backside.


    Now, the porcupine was scared, "BIBI!" He cried for help.


    Kael showed himself at this point, running straight at the porcupine. The ground beneath him cracked from the weight and force behind his moves. He raised his golden claws, ready to end this pesky porcupine.


    Forget the metal skeleton, if this claw descended with the forceful intent it was clearly showing, it would be fatal.


    Bibi frowned as he looked at this. He completely ignored the bear that was rampaging near her cave entrance and put all his attention on Kael.


    His white tail swished slightly. He made a clawing motion with his hand to the ground and multiple ice spikes, as thick as a man¡¯s waist shot out of the ground, all heading to Kael.


    However, as if they had all hit an invisible barrier, they broke apart before they hit the golden lion.


    This was still enough to push Kael away from the porcupine before his claws tore through his chest.


    Bibi III¡¯s action instantly spread confusion among the wolves who saw this. Even the bear was stumped, weren¡¯t these two on the same side?


    For a brief moment, no side attacked each other, although they remained alert.


    Bibi III, with a cold gaze that he had never shown before, began to walk to Kael and the porcupine.


    His claws elongated and white fur began to grow out of his skin. The two ears on top of his head expanded and his face began to morph into a wolf-like visage.


    He dropped down on all fours, creating a heavy thudding sound. Even then, his new form wasn¡¯t so short.


    Bibi III, now a white wolf nearly six feet in height, strolled elegantly to the two beasts.


    The cold wind picked up as a small-scale snowstorm started brewing with Bibi III at the center. His cold blue eyes revealed a hint of annoyance. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I really underestimated you," Bibi said, his voice carrying a trace of frustration.


    Three head-sized snowflakes formed around him, spinning at a high velocity with edges as sharp as a newly polished sword.


    Kael vigilantly looked at Bibi, his vines still tightening themselves around the porcupine whose belly was already freezing from the cold.


    "What did you hope to achieve with this? You need me to conquer the mountain, you need me to annex the other wolf clans, you need me, Bibi." Kael said.


    "Is that what you think?" Bibi III asked, the temperature dropping lower as time passed, "I refuse to believe you¡¯re that stupid.


    All I needed from you was a stronghold on the mountain, from which we could launch a campaign to conquer it all.


    Why should I annex the wolf clans when they would willingly agree to join forces with me?


    Why would I work with a lion to fight against my kind?"


    The three spinning at maximum velocity snowflakes above his head shot straight for Kael¡¯s head.


    Kael turned his head to the side as the snowflakes pierced through his magic barrier and struck his thick mane.


    Feeling the slight pain coming from his neck, Kael reassessed Bibi III¡¯s threat level, this wolf could not leave this place alive. He had to make sure of that.


    Without saying anything, Kael lunged at the approaching Wolf with flames covering his body. Bibi also did the same, sprinting towards the golden lion.


    A thick layer of ice covered his body, making him seem more imposing than he already was.


    The two large beasts collided, sending a small tremor through the ground. Frost and flames intertwined as the ground cracked and stones were sent flying.


    Meanwhile, as the two-tier 3 beasts were battling it out, another devious play was afoot.


    The bear, seeing the confusion in the wolves eyes, didn¡¯t attack, instead, it stayed at the cave entrance, blocking all from entering.


    Bibi IV, seeing an opportunity, immediately pounced on his sister, Bibi V.


    The sudden attack was too surprising, there was no way to defend against it. Bibi IV¡¯s storming jaws clenched around his sister¡¯s neck viciously.


    "What are you doing!" The green wolf shouted as he ran to stop this.


    He slammed his shoulder into Bibi IV¡¯s side but he only pushed the larger wolf slightly.


    Ice crept up Bibi IV¡¯s mouth as his sister tried to defend herself. Other wolves had jumped on Bibi IV¡¯s body, biting and clawing at him to stop, but this only made him bite harder.


    If he was in charge he could kill anyone and they won¡¯t stop him. They dared to favor his sister over him because of his father, they would pay. With these thoughts in his mind, he relished the taste of his sister¡¯s blood.


    All the weight of the wolves didn¡¯t stop him from finally snapping her neck, and he enjoyed every moment of it.


    "NOOOO!" The green wolf shouted frantically. "You unfilial son!" Enraged, the green wolf was ready to attack.


    But at this time, an unlikely ally came to the aid of Bibi IV.


    The green wolf suddenly paused, feeling strange and lost. Space rippled as a red line appeared around the neck of the green wolf.


    He wanted to turn his head to look at his companions but his head just fell to the ground. His eyes stared lifelessly as his body collapsed to the ground.


    This sudden turn of events caused even more confusion.


    One of the fire wolves began to howl. Before much sound could escape his mouth, Diane rushed him and ripped out his throat.


    The fire wolf choked on his own blood as he stared at the muscular lioness who now had his blood decorating her mouth.


    The other wolves looked around to see that they were surrounded by Kael¡¯s lionesses who looked at them with malicious intent. For this, Bibi IV was genuinely grateful.


    He let his sister¡¯s body drop to the floor, licking the blood staining his mouth. The ordinary wolves were stupefied by what was happening.


    Unfortunately, despite how fast Diane had been, that brief noise reached Bibi¡¯s very sensitive ears.


    As Bibi¡¯s blue eyes shifted in the midst of the fight to see the body of a white wolf with blood on her neck area, something changed.


    Kael had never felt such a level of coldness until that very moment.

 Chapter 72: Bloody White

    Bibi III had looked away for a moment to see the dead body of his daughter lying beside his son.


    He saw the lionesses surrounding his strongest wolves and immediately understood what happened.


    Kael¡¯s jaw was just a few inches away from clamping around the neck of the distracted Bibi when a chilling wave passed through his body.


    Kael¡¯s whole body was frozen, encased in thick ice that made him look like an uncarved ice statue.


    Bibi ran toward the wolves with a frightening snarl on his face.


    The vines that held the porcupine to the mountainside lost power after Kael was incapacitated.


    The porcupine began to tear out the vines, very eager to get his defenseless belly out of sight.


    Just then, his senses tingled and he got a feeling of urgency. His eyes caught the slight ripple of space and light and he instinctively tucked his belly in.


    The porcupine held in his cry as he felt a single claw tear through his stomach. The cut was deep but it wasn¡¯t fatal, not yet.


    Katari watched from her hiding place as blood trickled down from the cut. She had used nearly all her power, imbuing her claws with the sharp properties of space, a technique she had recently learned.


    She had expected the cut to be deeper and was a bit disappointed. Even though this was a creature almost as strong as a tier 3 lion, it was still possible to kill him with a well-planned assassination strike.


    Even if the assassin was weaker, it should still be possible.


    As the porcupine got its limbs free, he crouched to the ground on all fours to protect his belly. This, unfortunately, led to something else.


    The gash on his belly opened up and his intestines began to slowly spill out.


    The porcupine nearly went mad from the pain. He had to stand on his hind legs again while grabbing his spilling guts with his small paws.


    He was in so much pain that the metal quills on his back began to vibrate, emitting a clunking sound that reverberated across the battlefield.


    Katari smiled at this, there was no need to fight head-on, she could just wait for him to die.


    The porcupine moved away, intending to exit the battlefield and look for a place to recuperate. He left a trail of blood on the floor as he dragged himself away, clenching his metal teeth to suppress his desire to scream.


    Unbeknownst to him, Katari silently followed from behind.


    Bibi III ran at full speed, and following behind him was a white storm of cold fury.


    Flames erupted from Kael¡¯s frozen body, melting the ice quickly. The two horns on his head glowed green and large vines broke out of the ground to chase after Bibi III.


    A lot of the vines froze and shattered to pieces before they could reach Bibi¡¯s moving form, but some thicker and stronger ones still made it.


    Bibi¡¯s mouth was wide open, his sharp fangs a few inches away from biting off Priya¡¯s head


    A crisp sound echoed out as the jaws clamped shut on emptiness. A vine wrapped around Bibi¡¯s hind legs, tugging him back.


    "You! You Bastard!" Bibi shouted as he stared at his son with a crazed expression. A frost wave pushed forth from his body, freezing the limbs of both friends and foes.


    Two things made Bibi angry. First was the death of his daughter who he favored so much. She was almost like a mirror if he and he had grown fond of her.


    Indeed, he had already thought of her replacing Bibi IV as the heir to the throne.


    The second thing that made him angry was the disruption of his plans. No one likes it when things don¡¯t go according to how they planned it, including Bibi III.


    He had always known that his son wished to be the next leader but hadn¡¯t worried about it. As the leader of the Bibi clan who was still young, he was bound to have many more children in the future.


    Heirs couldn¡¯t be decided based on age alone. So he never really cared about his son¡¯s ambition, it wasn¡¯t like Bibi IV could challenge his power.


    He never expected that this son would plot with the enemy from another race to overthrow him.


    The vines instantly froze after Bibi glanced at it. A swirl of ice crystals was generated and they spun around Bibi, he intended to cut all these lionesses to shreds.


    This was enough time for the flaming lion, which was Kael, to catch up and ram head-first into Bibi III¡¯s side. Kael pushed him far enough to send both of them over a steep mountain slide.


    The horn bash nearly broke Bibi¡¯s ribs as he and Kael fell down the mountain.


    Even as they rolled down the mountainside, unable to control their descent, they didn¡¯t stop fighting.


    Ice and fire combined to produce steam and claws and fangs were retracted as soon as they were shown.


    Bibi got a firm footing, still sliding down the steep mountainside. He saw Kael who was behind him also used his claws to grab the rocks.


    Kael jumped at Bibi, surprising the white wolf and sending him further down the mountain.


    Kael was ferocious and his physical might overwhelmed Bibi. As he rolled, he landed as many claw strikes as he could, painting Bibi¡¯s white coat with patches of red.


    Out of a mixture of anger and desperation, Bibi bit Kael¡¯s neck. This was a terrible mistake as Kael¡¯s neck was protected by his thick mane, his bite force wasn¡¯t enough to do any satisfactory damage to Kael in this case. Bibi, on the other hand, left his neck exposed.


    Kael did not let go of this opportunity, as soon as the large furry neck was exposed, he bit down viciously.


    The two tumbled down, packing dust and stones with them until they rolled to a stop on the mountain floor.


    Bibi kicked and scratched at Kael but the latter wasn¡¯t letting go.


    Kael pressed his paws on Bibi¡¯s flailing limbs, using his superior strength to hold them in place. He bit harder and harder on Bibi¡¯s neck, drawing blood.


    The ground froze over and multiple ice shards manifested around the duo. The ice shards struck Kael, lodging themselves into his body or leaving deep scratches.


    His mouth was freezing and the blood that entered his mouth gave him consistent brain freeze. His body was being encased in ice but they melted away after a few moments.


    Ice spikes shot out from the ground beneath Kael and pierced his belly, luckily, they were stopped by his unnaturally strong abdominal muscles just after penetrating his skin.


    Kael did his best to hold up his defenses while still sinking his golden fangs deeper into Bibi¡¯s neck.


    As a tier 3 wolf, Bibi III had a very strong neck that was filled with strong muscles. Still, he felt his windpipe being crushed and he was running out of breath and blood.


    He was losing feelings over his body faster than he was losing consciousness. Bibi knew that once he lost consciousness, it would be completely over for him.


    If he had known this was how it would turn out, he would have never formed that alliance with Kael. He had set himself up to be schemed against the moment he came to this mountain.


    He wasn¡¯t willing to give up, not yet. There was still a lot he wished to do for the wolf race. He hadn¡¯t avenged his father yet.


    Yet, despite all his determination to survive, he no longer had any power to push Kael away. Up till now, he still couldn¡¯t understand why Kael had so many powers.


    There were so many factors that he couldn¡¯t have possibly prepared for all of them. "It¡¯s not fair¡­" Was the last thing he said to Kael.


    From the eye that faced Kael, the eye that watched the blood-soaked mouth crush his throat, a tear formed at the base and fell over his eyelid.


    The tear slid down his cheeks, wetting the fur that it came in contact with. That tear turned to ice before it could finish its journey to the white wolf¡¯s jaw.


    The blue eye gazed lifelessly at the sky, traces of indignation could still be read from his final expression.


    Bibi IV who had been closely following the two from afar approached. As soon as he came down the mountain, he got a good look at his father, and his new backer.


    A sick feeling sprouted within, he felt like his guts were twisting and his mind was cloudy. He felt guilt.


    *AWOOOOOOOO*


    As hypocritical as it may be, Bibi IV howled mournfully, for that was how he truly felt at this moment.


    His howl ascended to reach the ears of the wolves and the lionesses.


    The tier two wolves, hearing the howl, knew that things were going to change.


    One of them let out his own sorrowful howl, followed by another, then another.


    Soon, both the large wolves and ordinary wolves were howling. All the inhabitants of the mountain knew that an important figure among the wolves had died that night.


    Then there was Katari who seemed to be skipping excitedly in a certain direction.


    The smile on her face got wider as she heard the howls in the distance. To her, this was just the sound of Kael¡¯s power, it was music to her ears.


    She silently followed the trail of blood on the floor, a skip now appearing once in a while in her steps.


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 Chapter 73: Personification Of Despair

    The wolf-sized porcupine stumbled through the forest after reaching the base of the mountain.


    Currently, the mountain is the worst place to be. He had to get away from that place to be able to recover.


    He still had to find any of his companions who could help take of him and treat his injury.


    ¡¯Bibi is so useless¡­¡¯ He thought while he gritted his teeth.


    He regretted listening to Bibi¡¯s words, none of the promises he made was worth all these injuries.


    So many things had happened that he hadn¡¯t anticipated and he was bleeding to death for it.


    Out of desperation, he initiated a transformation. His metal quills shrank and his limbs elongated as his body took on a human-like appearance.


    Metal quills stood erect on his head and lined down his back. His pale yellow skin was loose and his small eyes darted around, vigilant as usual.


    The gash remained, painting his abdomen red with blood. His hands pressed the gash close, hoping to keep the guts from spilling out.


    As the porcupine man walked deeper into the forest, he didn¡¯t notice the faint space rippled beside him. His senses were already dull and not as good as they should be.


    Claws, imbued with the power to cut through space, appeared out of thin air and struck at his hand.


    Even in this injured and dull state, his reaction time was still as expected. He retracted his hand to avoid it from being cut off.


    However, this made the claws cut through his fingers. Blood spilled as three fingers fell to the floor.


    "AARGH!" The porcupine man cried out in agony. Two streams of tears slid down his cheeks, an involuntary reaction to the pain he was feeling.


    He looked around frantically, now aware that he wasn¡¯t alone and was in fact being followed.


    "AAAAAARGH!" He screamed like a madman, in an attempt to chase away the stalker.


    Just then, he caught sight of a lioness. It was a short appearance but it was enough for him to know that it was one that wasn¡¯t even as powerful as Kael.


    "No way! NO FREAKING WAY!" The porcupine man began to freak out, "GET THE FUCK OUT YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU PLAY WITH ME!" He shouted, his voice spreading out like a telepathic tsunami. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He received no answer, further sending him down a spiral of frustration. It was infuriating that the one who was putting him in this situation was a lioness who was technically weaker than him.


    But technicalities didn¡¯t matter for now. If he could just pinpoint her location, this fight would be over in a heartbeat.


    Now that he knew what to look for, he was ready. He lowered his center of gravity, his ears attentive for the slightest sound.


    A flicker of light appeared in the corner of his vision and his hand reached behind him to swiftly pull out one of the metal quills.


    He swung his arm like it was a sling, throwing the metal quill like it was just a really long dart.


    The metal quill didn¡¯t hit any target, only flying deep into the forest at a very high speed.


    The porcupine man, like he had gone crazy, pulled more metal quills out of his back with his one good arm and threw them around with no precision.


    His metal quills either struck the trees or nothing.


    He continued until he had thrown eleven metal quills, none of them met their intended target.


    He breathed in and out heavily, his good hand hanging down. He was losing too much blood to be able to play this sick game of cat and mouse.


    *SSHH*


    The porcupine man could see it in slow motion as it happened.


    The claw, sharp with space vibrating at the sharp edges, tore into his skin and cut in between his joints. There was some resistance but the claw avoided the metal bones altogether. The claw carried with it a longer transparent claw that followed it all the way through the arm.


    It came as soon as it went, leaving a red line that went around the man¡¯s shoulder.


    The arm fell, followed by a heartbreaking scream and a stream of blood.


    The arm had just touched the ground when the same thing happened to his leg. The claw cut from behind his knee, skillfully pushing the metal kneecap and cutting out of the flesh.


    The scream that followed scared all the birds in the area. The porcupine man fell to the ground, not even knowing that he was on the ground as his mind was overwhelmed by the pain he was experiencing.


    She was toying with him, his brain processed as he sat up and looked around. Using his one leg and one fingerless arm, he dragged himself away.


    As he moved, the gash on his abdomen opened up again and his intestines began to spill out. They dragged on the dirt floor, transferring a maddening sensation to the porcupine man.


    Only now did he hear footsteps from behind him. Snot dripped down his nose and tears flowed from his eyes, the feeling of dread taking over every sense of reason he had left.


    He reached the tree closest to him and rested his head on the roots. He sobbed there, aware of his fate.


    What he found most demoralizing was the fact that the person doing this to him was a tier 2 lioness. Tier 2 lionesses weren¡¯t supposed to be this powerful.


    The footsteps got closer and his body trembled as he cried louder.


    "I¡¯m sorry! Please!..." He cried, having no other choice or a means to escape this.


    He sat himself up and rested his back on the tree. Tears clouded his vision but he still made out the figure of the lionesses.


    Never in his life had he seen a more detailed personification of despair.


    Inky black eyes stared back at him and she had a clownish smile on her lion face. The smile only made her look more scary as her jade white fangs were bared.


    Her head was close to his, very close that he might have been able to take advantage of he was at his peak. Now, he couldn¡¯t even grab the roots of the tree firmly.


    But he knew nothing he did would change how he would spend his last moments today. If she didn¡¯t kill him, he would die from blood loss, if not, a predator would come and kill him.


    "Just finish it!" He pleaded.


    If not for size and aura, anyone would assume this lioness was tier 3 from her actions alone.


    "Your crimes against the king determines that you won¡¯t enjoy a swift death." Her voice entered his mind. It was soft and feminine, carrying a trace of eagerness and psychopathy.


    Without waiting for the porcupine man to respond, she places her large paws on his chest. One of her claws stuck out and rested gently on the base of his neck.


    Knowing what the lioness was about to do, the porcupine man began to shake his head sorrowfully, his face turned ugly from the crying.


    Yet the lioness had no pity in her eyes, it was as if his cries only made her happier. For her, this was her day to test out what she had always dreamt of doing to the enemies of her beloved.


    Her claws pierced into his throat as slowly as possible. She felt the vibration of his vocal cords and delighted in the sensation.


    Then in a painfully sluggish manner, she began to drag the claw down.


    Who knew the porcupine man could scream louder than he had been screaming before?


    The sight was like the lioness was unzipping a jacket. Sometimes, the zip, her claw, got stuck and she had to apply a little more force.


    She dragged down until her claw reached the gash and exited. And like an artist who wished to observe her work better, she stepped back and looked at her victim, smiling.


    Now she watched as he choked on and bathed in his blood.


    The porcupine man found himself losing conciseness for which he was thankful. He could finally escape with the help of death, away from this sadistic lioness.


    And the lioness, seeing her victim¡¯ dropping eyelids erupted with sudden ferociousness. She bit and tore at his body, tossing and ripping him apart bit by bit.


    Even as he lost conciseness, the porcupine was barraged by pain. If he had a chance, he would warn all the future enemies this lioness would face.


    #######


    A few moments later, a portal opened in the sky, and a massive bird flew down from it.


    He landed gracefully on the ground, the trees creaking from the force he landed with.


    This bird was Isaiah, the crane.


    "The weird space power I felt should have come from here." He muttered to himself.


    He looked down to see blood spilled everywhere, and from the looks of it, it was spilled not long ago.


    He took two large steps to cover the distance between where the blood was spilled and where it led to.


    Isaiah¡¯s eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw the mutilated corpse before him. What he was seeing was just a mixture of shiny metal bones and shredded red flesh.


    The skeleton emitted clunking sounds as it was slowly reverting back to its original beastly form.


    From the metal quills that were on the back and head of the corpse, he could already tell who it was. Not to mention the heart was missing, he could see through the metal ribs and emptied-out abdomen that there was no heart where it should have been.


    "Darius won¡¯t be happy about this." Isaiah¡¯ said after sighing tiredly.

 Chapter 74: Battle Analysis

    Kael released Bibi III¡¯s neck and backed away.


    He walked tiredly to a nearby tree and lay under its shed. His blood was slowly forming a pool beneath him, he was bleeding from too many places to count. Bibi had been a very ferocious opponent.


    His eyes lingered in the white wolf¡¯s body then in Bibi IV who was looking at him wearily.


    Tree roots rose out of the ground like wooden snakes. They wrapped gently around different parts of Kael¡¯s large body, emitting a green glow.


    "Come here." He called Bibi IV. The muscular wolf was hesitant but still walked over.


    He passed by his father¡¯s corpse, seeing the crushed and bloody neck. His white fur still reminded him of how elegant Bibi III was a few hours ago, now his coat was stained with blood and he lay lifelessly on the dirty ground.


    So was the nature of the wild. Insufficient power meant eventual death that would be brutal and painful. No matter how innocent a creature was, it couldn¡¯t escape this rule as long as it lived in the wild.


    Bibi IV guiltily evaded the blank eyes of the large wolf, passing the body to reach Kael.


    As he got closer, he noticed that the tree beside Kael was visibly shrinking, as if life was being sucked out of it.


    He could see the bloody gashes on Kael¡¯s body slowly closing up and his body was becoming more relaxed.


    This astounded him. If his father was the one to have survived with these injuries, even the green wolf would not have been able to heal him. He would have had to depend on his tier 3 body to recover.


    "Come closer," Kael said with a gentle expression on his face.


    Bibi IV began to shiver as he got closer. Watching the fight from afar and seeing Kael in his humanoid form was completely different from seeing him in his lion form.


    The closer he got, the more he was aware of just how large Kael was. His paws that rested to the side made his imagination run wild, wondering if he would survive a slap.


    ¡¯I won¡¯t.¡¯ He quickly concluded. Just because the porcupine and Bibi had endured the slaps didn¡¯t mean he could.


    Even when lying down, Kael was able to look straight into the eyes of the wolf, even looking down slightly.


    "Do you know what you must do now?" Kael asked. His golden eyes seemed to see through Bibi IV, looking straight at his soul.


    Bibi IV nodded his head, "The wolves will now be under your rule. Whichever direction you stretch your paw, we shall follow." With that, he bowed his head as an act of respect.


    Kael shook his head, "That¡¯s not all. Immediately make sure that all wolves are added to the Primordial record."


    Even though the Primordial Record didn¡¯t guarantee loyalty, it was a form of census and monitoring. Kael didn¡¯t take any chances after what he went through to kill Bibi III.


    "Yes," Bibi IV accepted the request.


    "I¡¯m aware that you guys didn¡¯t come to the mountain with your full force. There are still elderly wolves and puppies back at the clan base. Am I correct?" Kael asked. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes," Bibi IV shook as he answered. He didn¡¯t know how Kael knew about this but something felt wrong about the way Kael asked.


    Little did he know that Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ had long planned for contingencies in case they failed.


    For Kael, it was either he won, or everybody lost. If there was the slightest hint that he would not win against Bibi, N¡¯bay¨¦ would have massacred the elderly and puppies of the wolves.


    This was just a way to make sure that the wolves would find it almost impossible to recover after the battle on the mountain.


    "Good, make sure that they too are integrated, re-educated if necessary," Kael stated.


    "Yes," Bibi replied, "But, there might be resistance."


    "I know, isolate the wolves who resist the changes, let them go if it comes down to it, as long as they are on the Primordial Record.


    If they are prone to violence, however, execute them publicly to make an example."


    "Ye¡­"


    "Refer to me as King Kael from now on." Kael cut him off.


    "Yes, King Kael."


    "Go back and add them to the Primordial Record, there is 1 point per person reward.


    Gather them at the cave with an inside pond, I will give a speech there."


    Kael didn¡¯t notice it, but his voice had gotten deeper and more manly. He now spoke with an edge that kept listeners on the tip of their toes.


    He sounded like he was about to shout yet was tired from shouting. His words came out slow and steady.


    "Yes, King Kael." Bibi IV bowed, then stepped back to go and meet the wolves and lionesses.


    Looking at the departing wolf, Kael sighed. The tall tree beside him creaked as its stem was drying up fast and could no longer hold its weight.


    The roots unwrapped from Kael¡¯s body and fell limply to the ground. Not bothering about the dying tree, Kael stood up and walked away from its premises.


    He approached the dead white wolf as his bones cracked and rearranged themselves. By the time he was standing before the corpse, he was in his humanoid form.


    There was still blood on his chiseled muscles and his deep blonde hair was shabby.


    Five metallic golden claws grew out of his fingers. As he bent down to tear out the heart, he thought about the fight that had happened not long ago.


    He analyzed everything that happened, from the moment the porcupine ambushed him, to the point he pushed Bibi III off the mountainside.


    The porcupine was strong, but in front of Kael¡¯s barrage of different abilities, it stood no chance. If not for Bibi interfering, he would have killed the Porcupine.


    Bibi III was also very strong. Despite how much they rolled and bashed their bodies when falling down the steep mountainside, Bibi hadn¡¯t been injured from the fall.


    Instead, it had been the mountain being damaged as their mid-fall fight caused many rocks to fly out of the mountain body.


    The more he thought of it, the more he realized just how terrifying Bibi was, and just how terrifying he himself had become.


    All through the fight, Bibi had a constant stream of frost energy hitting Kael¡¯s body, even affecting the surroundings in the process.


    Yet, Kael fought on and won. N¡¯bay¨¦ who had been tier 3 for a longer time wasn¡¯t confident in being able to beat Bibi III, but Kael achieved that in the first try with nothing but brute force.


    ¡¯Am I the bad guy?¡¯ Kael asked himself with a playful grin on his face.


    Squelching sounds were heard as Kael brought his bloody hand up. In his grasp was a wolf heart, it brimmed with energy even though it no longer had any beats.


    Just then, he heard some footsteps from beside him. Even without turning his head, he already knew who it was.


    Kael turned to see Katari walking to him. Her whole body was soaked in blood and in her mouth was a porcupine heart.


    "Oh, Katari," Kael smiled, this one was genuine. This smile which was so pure made Katari¡¯s heart skip a beat. Her eyes glittered as she hurried to Kael¡¯s side.


    Kael patted her head, ignoring the feeling of fur soaked in blood. Katari purred at his actions, closing her eyes and enjoying the moment.


    "Hehe, Katari, has anyone ever told you how good you are?" Kael asked.


    Katari was so stunned by the weird question that the porcupine¡¯s heart fell from her mouth.


    She tilted her head, looking at Kael with a suspicious look. Since when did Kael ask such expressive questions?


    "You did well Katari. I didn¡¯t think you would kill him by yourself, you¡¯re such a good girl!" Kael said, feeling very satisfied. He pulled on her fluffy cheeks and played with it.


    If lionesses could blush, Katari would have no way of hiding it. She tucked her head in, feeling shy from the sudden praises and affection Kael was showing.


    "T-thank you," She said. When last had she stammered like this?


    "Yeah, never let anyone tell you that you aren¡¯t valuable. You are irreplaceable to me, I couldn¡¯t have achieved what I did today without you.


    Your spying, your assassinations. I was thinking I have to go and finish the porcupine by myself." Kael said.


    Katari felt blood rushing to her head. She could only nod her head, afraid of fumbling her telepathic words with how chaotic her mind was.


    "You deserve a reward actually. You know what, take this heart for yourself." Kael, maybe from impulsiveness or after a quick decisive calculation, said this.


    "What? No, you said you need the heart." Katari was stunned.


    "Yes, and I also told you to get stronger, I can feel your improvements. You killed him, you deserve his heart." Kael said.


    Katari was ecstatic, was this really happening?


    "But, won¡¯t it take a lot of time for me to evolve? And Nalii is also not available?"


    "Don¡¯t worry about that, we need time to recuperate and consolidate our power. You might as well use it to evolve so that you can be more useful to me in the future."


    Hearing this, Katari didn¡¯t argue anymore, she picked the heart from the ground and bowed, her head nearly touching the ground.


    "Thank you¡­" She wanted to say more but did not know how to articulate her words. She was not thanking him for being allowed to use the heart which she rightfully earned, she was thanking him for being considerate.


    It wasn¡¯t every day that Kael treated them like he actually liked them. Whatever had stopped him from seeing the lionesses as nothing more than slightly intelligent beasts was slowly fading away.


    She had to thank him for that, she was afraid he would go back to how he normally behaves.


    Kael waved his hand, sending Katari away. As soon as she was out of sight, the smile on Kael¡¯s face faded into a frown.


    He was struggling, trying to kill the warm feeling he had felt when Katari was close to him, but this foreign feeling refused to die.


    The last time he felt like this was in his past life with his last ex-wife. He had thought he had buried this feeling for good.


    ¡¯Hmm,¡¯

 Chapter 75: King Kael

    The cave entrance of the inside-pond cave was crowded this evening.


    Kael stood on a boulder by the cave entrance, his arms were behind him and his broad chest was pushed out. His burly muscular form was bare and filled with the aura of strength.


    His golden-blonde hair swayed from the gentle breeze and his sharp chin was elevated. His beautiful golden eyes stared at the faraway sun that was about to set over the horizon.


    He could see multitudes of trees from above where he stood and as far as he could see, there was nothing but green.


    His tail hit the ground abruptly, gaining the attention of his audience. Looking down, he saw the wolves and lionesses gathered on the wide flat ground in front of the cave.


    The smell of this cave¡¯s former inhabitant, the water snake, was still present. But no one was bothered about it because it was the most trivial thing right now.


    "Greetings Wolves!" Kael said with his telepathic voice louder than ever.


    The seventy-odd wolves looked at him with mixed expressions. This was the person who killed their leader after all. If not for Bibi IV¡¯s continuous assurance and the fear of what would happen to them, they would have rebelled.


    "I know the events of today have dismayed many of you¡­ I apologize for¡­"


    Kael paused mid-speech. He had begun with a lie and it felt wrong for some reason. He wasn¡¯t talking to humans who needed to be lied to for them to feel better. No, he was standing before wolves, literally and metaphorically.


    There was no need to pretend.


    "Wolves! S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything that happened today happened because this is how it is supposed to be.


    Bibi III was strong, but I was stronger. The price for losing in this world is death, and he received his reward."


    Kael¡¯s words were as audacious as much as they were true.


    "Today, your leader has fallen, not because he was weak, but because I am stronger. I do not intend to destroy your clan but to give it purpose, true power. The world outside these lands is ruthless, filled with dangers and opportunities. Alone, you may survive but united under me, we will thrive.


    You are fierce hunters, cunning and swift. I see your strength, your loyalty to each other, and your will to fight. Those qualities are why I choose not to destroy you but to lead you. With my might and your unity, we will dominate territories others dare not tread. Together, we will become unstoppable, a force feared and admired by all.


    Follow me, and I promise you glory, strength, and survival beyond anything you¡¯ve known. Defy me, and you will face the same fate as your fallen leader. The choice is yours, wolves. Will you cling to the past or rise with me to claim the future?


    If you see me unfit to lead you, step forward."


    Kael¡¯s gaze was stern as he looked at the wolves. These wolves were going to be his warriors, the ones to pave a bloody path to his conquests.


    Being pretentious in front of them would only do more harm than good. It was better to be assertive and display dominance from the very beginning.


    In short, he was letting them know who was the boss.


    None of the wolves stepped forward to protest. Even the large wolves who had grumbled a lot didn¡¯t step forward.


    There was a mix of fear and respect that made the wolves hesitant about whatever action their heart was telling them to take.


    As a matter of fact, they now looked at Kael with a bit more respect than they used to.


    This didn¡¯t mean that they now accepted him as their leader, it was something that would have to happen over time.


    "Since no one wishes to step forward, I will take it as you all being ready for the next step.


    You all will be integrated into my kingdom and take your roles in the Wolf Warrior caste.


    This may seem limiting to your future potential but I assure you that it is not so. Further details will be explained to you by the Wolf Warrior Commander, Bibi IV.


    Bibi IV, step forward."


    When Bibi IV heard his name, he quickly stepped forward, half excited and half displeased.


    He was excited that Kael acknowledged him as the leader of the wolves. Now those wolves who had bad intentions towards him would not dare to touch him, seeing that Kael was his backer.


    But at the same time, this put him in the spotlight, the bad kind. Everyone now knew that he colluded with Kael to kill his father.


    Alas, that was one of the prices he had to pay for seizing power forcefully.


    "Bibi IV will lead the entirety of the wolf warrior caste, both present and future, until death or I say otherwise.


    The Bibi clan will undergo a slow restructuring, I advise you all to take note." Kael said, his words carrying a hidden meaning.


    Bibi IV had a small grin on his wolf face, only those close enough would be able to see it.


    For someone who had never studied politics, he was quite knowledgeable about how it works after hanging around his father and the pack leaders.


    The so-called restructuring was just an excuse for him to remove the wolves who would oppose him or make things difficult for him and replace them.


    The tier 2 wolves felt a shiver down their spine. Their loyalty to Bibi III had made them act out and now they risked being ostracized from this new order.


    "All bow to King Kael!" Bibi IV shouted at this time.


    The wolves looked at each other, and then one of the large wolves bowed his head. Seeing one wolf do it, the others soon began bowing.


    The lionesses who stood by the side watched all this with interest. They were like royal consorts disdainfully watching theatrics in the court.


    "Disperse the ordinary wolves," Kael ordered Bibi IV suddenly.


    Bibi IV immediately looked at one of the fire wolves, "You, lead the wolves to different areas to patrol around the mountain."


    The fire wolf was startled at first l, but when he saw the look Kael was giving him, he quickly obliged.


    He barked at the wolves, causing them to follow him as he left the premises.


    All that were left was the last of the original three fire wolves-Diane had bitten off the neck of one of the fire wolves-, the spirit wolf, and Bibi IV.


    The Bibi clan had come here with eight tier 2 wolves. Now all they had left was four and that included Bibi IV.


    "You will need to increase the strength of the wolves. We need way more tier 2s than what you guys had before." Kael said.


    Bibi IV nodded, even though the deaths of the four tier 2s still had a lot to do with Kael. "Yes my King, but I¡¯m afraid that will take time.


    We may have a lot of tier 2s gathered here but the forest is mostly populated by ordinary creatures. Unfortunately, there are only two ways we can awaken their wolf hearts.


    Either by luck or by stimulation. The closest form of stimulation we can get is the heart of another creature with similar power levels to a tier 2 wolf. But I am sure you already know that beforehand, my King.


    Many of the wolves are not strong enough to hunt down tier 2 creatures unless they hunt in groups. But even then, group hunt is irrelevant if none of the wolves are fast enough to chase after the prey."


    Kael nodded, "I know that, that¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you a month. The lionesses will also help you out if needed."


    Saying this, Kael brought his hands out from behind his back. Bibi IV and the two other wolves felt their hearts skip a beat when they saw what was in Kael¡¯s hand.


    "Father¡¯s heart." Bibi IV muttered.


    Kael purposely let the three wolves see the heart, even though he had no intention of giving it to them.


    The lionesses also paid close attention to Kael¡¯s actions as he faced them with the heart in his hand.


    Diane, Zabita, Priya, Eidel, Ruda, and Olivia. He had to consider the one who would be most useful to him at the moment.


    After one month, he planned on taking the mountain in one swoop. For that, he needed the kind of ability that would destroy everything that dared to stand in his way.


    There was also the scary aura that sometimes escaped from the mountain peak. This did not deter him though, to him it was just a signal for him to prepare harder.


    After thinking some more about his options, he spoke out, "Eidel, this heart is for you."


    He could see the sad expressions that came on all their faces. Kael didn¡¯t say anything, he really wished to see them get stronger but for now, he had to be practical.


    With a skip in her steps, Eidel went forward to take the heart from Kael¡¯s hand in her mouth.


    Kael turned to Bibi IV, "Escort the lionesses to the cave. After that, take command, let the wolves patrol our territory, and complete all the tasks I gave you before."


    Bibi IV nodded his head, feeling his heart bleeding from seeing Eidel take the wolf¡¯s heart, but there was nothing he could do.


    Kael watched them go down the mountain. After they were out of sight, he walked away, heading in the direction of the bear.


    After the fight with Bibi III, everyone left the bear alone. Now that everything was out of the way, Kael felt he should personally pay a visit to this mother bear.


    Of course, now that Kael was in a satisfactory mood, he could consider options other than violence.

 Chapter 76: Front-Seat Experience

    Kael arrived at the bear cave, perceiving the familiar stench of the blood of different kinds of animals.


    He stood by the corridor of the cave entrance, waiting¡­


    "Can I come in?" Kael¡¯s telepathy brushed on whatever was inside the deep cave.


    "No!" A harsh answer was instantly given. Following that was the sound of heavy footsteps.


    The large mother bear appeared in front of him. She was taller than an adult man even on all fours and her width was stupendous.


    Her head, which was larger than Kael¡¯s human head, faced downward so that her eyes could align with his.


    Kael looked into her golden eyes, assuming an attitude of nonchalance. He didn¡¯t mind the hot breath that was blown against his face.


    "How are you, mother bear?" Kael asked, if he had pockets, he would have put his hands in them to look cooler.


    "Scum, do you want to act like you didn¡¯t attack me a few moments ago?" The mother bear asked with her teeth bared and her claws out.


    "You should introduce yourself first, I don¡¯t want to keep calling you mother bear," Kael said as he suddenly teleported away from his position, evading the massive paw that slammed the ground he was standing on.


    Kael appeared again. The mother bear wanted to rush him mindlessly but the object Kael held in his arms made her stop in her tracks.


    Hugged warmly in Kael¡¯s muscular arms was a bear cub. Kael had one hand under to support the cub and another on its back.


    The cub was sleeping his head on Kael¡¯s shoulder, oblivious to the kind of danger it was in.


    "I did not come here to fight," Kael said as he patted the back of the bear cub, running his fingers through the soft brown fur.


    The mother bear, seeing one of her children in Kael¡¯s arms, began to behave herself. She didn¡¯t know how Kael managed to get inside the cave without her notice but that didn¡¯t matter now.


    "What do you want?" She asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she struggled to hold back her killing intent.


    "First, your name, if you have one," Kael answered casually, ignoring the look the mother bear was giving him.


    "Kursela," She stated.


    Kael nodded, keeping the name to heart, "Another thing I want from you is your allegiance." He said.


    The mother bear frowned, "What?"


    "Oh, you don¡¯t understand?


    You already know that I have been eliminating our neighbors as I want to take over the mountain for myself.


    Well, the thing is I am a very considerate person and I don¡¯t want to make the life of a mother too difficult." Kael said with a truthful expression.


    He continued, "I could kill you, believe me, I could. I could also just chase you out, but what about your cubs?


    They would suffer if I did those things to them. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want that right?


    Something tells me that you and your sons would be valuable assets in my kingdom."


    The mother bear looked at Kael calmly, "Hmm," She didn¡¯t know how to respond to this offer at first.


    "And I know what you are thinking. What if you just choose not to?


    Well, then I¡¯ll have no choice but to either kill you or expel you from the mountain.


    You and I know you can¡¯t win. Not only am I stronger than you, but we have more than one tier 3s. You will be overwhelmed, that is a fact."


    Hearing these words, Kursela still didn¡¯t make a move or say anything. She was still contemplating something else.


    Kael¡¯s eyes brightened as he guessed what she was thinking, "Even if you escaped, I could always make sure that you left with only one child."


    As Kael said this, the golden claw at the end of his index finger shined ominously. The claw pressed on the head of the bear cub, threatening to do harm.


    A little bit of force and the cub would have his brains pierced through.


    Kursela¡¯s eyes widened and a frightening killing intent was released. Only now did she react.


    "Stop!" She shouted.


    Kael just kept on staring at the bear cub, as if he was just one decision away from killing the cub in his arms.


    "Even if I am willing to let you go, I won¡¯t do so without making sure you take a loss.


    On the other hand, there are a lot of benefits that I can offer. All I want is your allegiance." Kael said.


    "Fine!" Kursela hurriedly answered without thinking.


    The golden screen of the Primordial Record appeared in front of the mother bear and disappeared just as fast as it came.


    She didn¡¯t even give a second glance at it, all she was worried about was her child. Her identity mark was added in a jiffy.


    "That¡¯s fine," Kael said with that familiar satisfied smile of his.


    A grey spiritual light flashed across his eyes. The spirit energy entered the mind of the bear cub, forcing it to wake up.


    He was startled by the foreign entity holding him. And those golden eyes that stared into his lacked purity for some reason.


    The beauty of those eyes seemed to only mask the malevolence within them.


    Kael gently placed the little bear on the ground. He watched it scurry to hide behind his mother.


    "And just know that if you try to betray me after this agreement we have made, the consequences won¡¯t be funny," Kael stated.


    Kursela could only look on. She was a War bear but her reasoning still told her that if Kael could steal her cub once, he could do it again. For her, her cubs were her life.


    "I just hope you won¡¯t regret this decision once they grow up and your motherly instincts begin to fade away.


    In the meantime, I¡¯ll update you once I think of a good caste to put bears in." Kael walked away as he said that.


    The mother bear could only watch him leave unwillingly.


    ¡¯Some day, you will fall, Kael.¡¯ Kursela spat maliciously. Then she led her cub into the cave to continue resting.


    Kursela didn¡¯t know however that Kael had the spiritual powers, neither did she understand how it worked. She didn¡¯t know that Kael had been hearing her thoughts all this while.


    Hearing her last thought, Kael shook his head with a melancholic smile. ¡¯You are not enough to affect the fate of the universe with mere feelings, neither can your words deter me from my duty to conquer.¡¯


    Kael wasn¡¯t just referring to the bear, he was referring to everyone and everything that had malicious intent towards him.


    He was well aware of the dissatisfaction his methods usually brought. But Kael really had no choice.


    It was like he was playing a kingdom-building game on speed run. He had to prioritize the most effective methods, even if it meant dissatisfaction.


    Another thing was that Kael wasn¡¯t aiming to be a king who was loved by his people, nor did he exactly desire to be tyrannical.


    If they loved him, fine. But he would rather be feared than loved.


    He if all people knew just how fickle that thing called love was. It was like a drug, one moment you¡¯re high, and the next moment you don¡¯t feel it anymore.


    Love needs to be fueled constantly by different games, events, objects, and anything to make sure the spark never dies. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This took a lot of work and would not work out fifty percent of the time.


    His divorces were a perfect example of this. He always wondered what made the marriages of other couples last and he came to a very late realization.


    Most of those long-lasting marriages had way more than love. They had trauma bonds, they had emotional attachments, they had financial dependency, they had cultural expectations.


    Some marriages even had the element of fear. Fear of death, fear of losing insurance, fear of child support, fear of society looking down on them.


    They had all this mixed together with love.


    Kael who never knew this because of his lack of social interactions and the kind of perfect images society painted of marriage, suffered for it, financially and emotionally.


    By the time he knew, he had already lost the desire to ever come near that thing called love.


    Love was fickle, he knew because he had the front seat experience.


    Fear on the other hand worked like magic. Workers don¡¯t respect their bosses because they love them, even though some do.


    They respect him because of the fear of employment termination and the hardship that could come with it. Not everyone had months worth of savings just in case they lost their jobs.


    As an antisocial person in the corporate field with barely anyone to talk to, all he could do was observe in silence. And he observed how powerful fear was.


    Not just in the corporate setting, but also in the paramilitary fields and the loan banks.


    Kael knew just how powerful fear was because he also had a front-seat experience of its power.


    In his opinion, being feared all the time wasn¡¯t a good thing. But there was nothing good about the pursuit of power.


    So therefore, he concluded that if he could not be loved and feared at the same time, then it was better to be feared than to be loved.


    He wasn¡¯t worried that the animals feared him. They were as beastly as he was and the concept of willing obedience was foreign to them.


    Kursela¡¯s words didn¡¯t make him feel down, it just affirmed that he was on the right path.


    ¡¯Maybe one day, I will be so powerful that I won¡¯t need to force anyone to swear allegiance.


    They will be the ones to come to me willingly. One day¡­¡¯

 Chapter 77: Stepbro!

    WARNING: This chapter may be disturbing to certain audience. For the sake of the plot!


    ******


    When Kael reached N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave, he was already feeling very horny. He looked around but didn¡¯t catch sight of N¡¯bay¨¦ anywhere.


    Bibi IV had already escorted the lionesses to this place and had left. Eidel, Nalii, Katari, and N¡¯bay¨¦ were not present at the cave¡¯s frontage.


    He could smell the scent of Katari, Eidel, and Nalii from the cave, but N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s scent was completely absent.


    Zabita, Priya, Diane, and Olivia were lying in front of the cave entrance. When they saw Kael¡¯s figure, at first they just thought nothing of it, then their eyes opened wide.


    Kael was completely naked so they could see the lion rod in between his legs. They saw how it stood on attention, stiff and covered with bulging veins.


    Kael ignored their looks and walked into the cave. However, to the surprise of the lionesses, Olivia ran after Kael.


    In her eyes were glints of playfulness and mischievousness.


    Kael intended on walking to the end of the cave as that was where Eidel, Nalii, and Katari were slumbering as they experienced their evolution process.


    The runes on the walls made it so that the inside of the cave was barely visible from the outside.


    As soon as Olivia ran into the cave, he turned around with a confused gaze. He looked at this chubby lion that had a mischievous look in her eyes.


    "Olivia, why did you run after me?" Kael asked. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Olivia didn¡¯t answer at first, she just stared intently at the thing in between Kael¡¯s muscular legs.


    Kael traced her gaze and looked down at his risen rod, ¡¯Oh,¡¯


    "What do you want?" Kael asked with interest.


    "I just want to try something¡­" Olivia said with a low tone as she walked closer to Kael.


    She closed in on his lion rod and sniffed it. "Ah!" She let out a satisfied expression.


    Kael looked at this with multiple thoughts speeding through his head.


    Olivia opened her mouth, attempting to lick it. Kael quickly grabbed her head before she could do it.


    A drop of sweat fell down Kael¡¯s forehead.


    The tongue of a lion had tiny spikes that were used to scrape meat off bones. A casual lick would harm anything that didn¡¯t have fur protection.


    Of course, Kael wouldn¡¯t be injured, but that didn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    "What are you trying to do?" He asked.


    Olivia was put off by being abruptly shoved away like that. "I want it¡­" She said boldly.


    "Want what?" Kael asked, even though he knew what she was asking for. He thought he made it clear he wasn¡¯t sexually attracted to them for now.


    He thought¡­


    Olivia, seemingly in the mood to play this game, walked deeper into the cave, walking past Kael.


    "Stepbro, do me like you do N¡¯bay¨¦," Olivia proclaimed, causing Kael to recoil.


    "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!" A frustrated expression appeared on Kael¡¯s face. ¡¯Who is she calling stepbro? Why does it sound so weird?¡¯


    Olivia was technically his step-sister since they shared the same father but different mothers. Kael hardly thought about their relationship in that manner.


    Now that Olivia was talking to him in such a seductive way and addressed him as stepbro, it felt weird. He could feel lost dirty memories from his past life resurfacing.


    Kael hurriedly walked past Olivia, he still had to check up on Eidel, Nalii, and Katari.


    "STEPBROOOOO!" Olivia whined into his head with that annoying but lustful voice.


    Kael felt his heartbeat pick up some speed. He glanced back to see Olivia facing the cave entrance with her butt facing him.


    She lowered her chest and head to almost touch the floor while her front limbs were stretched out.


    Her butt was raised and her tail swung seductively from one side to the other.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦ said it felt good, I want to feel good too, Kael." It was unclear if Olivia¡¯s voice was becoming more seductive or her stance was too provocative, but it seemed to work.


    Kael¡¯s lion rod rose higher and became even longer.


    ¡¯What furry ass level shit is this,¡¯ Kael lamented in his mind but didn¡¯t move away.


    A weird thought entered his mind at this time, ¡¯What if¡­¡¯ Then he shook his head vigorously.


    ¡¯Fuck it, it¡¯s a chance to try something new. Thankfully, no humans from my past life will see this.¡¯ He thought to himself¡­


    "It would be nice to know how it feels I guess," He said to Olivia as he walked slowly to her. ¡¯Am I actually doing this?¡¯


    He reached for her elevated butt. Olivia who was looking behind was excited by this, she waved her butt, tempting Kael to do something.


    Kael¡¯s hands mindlessly found themselves on Olivia¡¯s hips. He closed his eyes, sighing about this impulsive behavior, then opened his eyes to reveal firmness within.


    His grip on her waist became strong as he held her in place. Her chubbiness tempted him to squeeze harder.


    "Ah!" Olivia let out a dirty moan that made Kael wonder what was wrong with this lioness, he hadn¡¯t even done anything yet.


    His erected lion rod, which had become bigger and longer after being aroused, touched the edge of Olivia¡¯s lioness vagina.


    He used his arm to push her tail away and stared at her face, "Are you ready?"


    "Yes, step-brother¡­" Olivia responded, after which Kael, frustrated by how she referred to him, dipped his rod into her vagina.


    "Oh Ahh Ahhhh¡­" Olivia, not expecting the sensation to feel like this, faced the cave entrance and moaned, this time it was involuntarily.


    ¡¯It¡¯s tight,¡¯ Kael mused. This¡­was actually not bad. It felt different but not bad.


    He pulled out, feeling the squishy walls wrapped around his penis. Then he rammed in again.


    "Aah!" Olivia moaned telepathically but her throat let out low sensual growls.


    The scene that followed would have left any human from earth gazing with jaws dropped and mind blanked.


    The easiest way to describe this was: A seven-foot-tall human-like man fucking a large chubby lioness from behind.


    Luckily, there was no human here to see Kael, no human¡­


    Kael, beginning to enjoy the feeling, thrust in and out faster, his waist packing quite a lot of strength.


    He grabbed Olivia¡¯s waist and slammed into her repeatedly, small grunts escaping from her lips once in a while.


    "It¡¯s¡­ so¡­aah¡­big¡­mhmm." Olivia¡¯s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she filled Kael¡¯s mind with her sensual moans.


    Her claws scratched the hard ground so that she could hold herself in place.


    "Yes, harder!" She screamed.


    "What?" Kael growled.


    "Harder, yes," Olivia shouted.


    Kael immediately picked up pace, using more force than before. Kinetic energy was transferred from Karl to Olivia and her chubby body vibrated in the most mesmerizing way.


    "Yes¡­yes yes yes yes!" Olivia was practically going insane from this but she was still acting seductively.


    She would push her butt backward as if wishing for Kael¡¯s rod to go even deeper.


    Kael answered her wish, already plunging himself into this strange level of debauchery.


    He leaned forward to hug his arms around Olivia¡¯s body. He hugged her tightly while his waist went to work, penetrating Olivia deeper and deeper. His rod touched places that could have never been touched if it was a human.


    Olivia felt like she was high, the tingling feeling she felt made her want to go mad. She let out a whistle-like growl and collapsed to the ground, her shaking no longer able to concentrate on holding her up.


    Kael¡¯s rod remained inside her and his arms were still wrapped around her chubby form.


    "So, you like it rough huh?" Kael spoke through repeated grunts. He thrust deeper, pressing his waist on her butt.


    Olivia tried to answer but the words that came out were incomprehensible.


    "Answer me," Kael asked while he suddenly stopped thrusting. The sudden loss of that wonderful sensation left her so dissatisfied that she panicked.


    "Yes, stepbro! I like it rough! Harder!" Olivia screamed, desiring that heavenly penetrating feeling once again.


    Hearing this, Kael resumed his thrusts with more vigor. In the middle of his hip movements, his body began to transform.


    While ramming Olivia from behind, he transformed into his lion form with his rod still inside of her. The penis that was originally big became even bigger.


    "Ouch!" Olivia¡¯s cute voice reached Kael in the form of a pain-driven reaction.


    She curved her back like she was having epilepsy as her vagina worked overtime to accommodate the massive lion rod entering her body.


    A string of drool fell from her open mouth with her tongue falling from the other side. Her eyes were completely rolled in and her body moved back and forth from the pounding she was receiving from behind.


    Kael was relentless, drowning himself in this exotic feeling of lion sex. He had completely disregarded his loosely formed principle of only being attracted to humanoids.


    At this time, N¡¯bay¨¦ stepped into the cave in her lioness form. She had just come back from a personal errand and saw Zabita, Priya, and Diane outside the cave. She had asked and learned that Kael was inside the cave and Olivia had followed him in.


    She originally did not think about it, but as soon as she stepped past the invisible barrier separating the cave¡¯s insides from the outside world, she was shocked.


    A wave of telepathic energy slammed into her mind in the form of sensual moans and deep grunts.


    She saw Kael, in his massive lion form, crouched over the smaller chubby Olivia. His crotch area was slamming against her ass repeatedly and her body moved back and forth on the ground.


    "Argh!" Kael grunted as he released his semen into Olivia. He looked up to see N¡¯bay¨¦ standing not far away and looking at him weirdly.

 Chapter 78: She’s Scary

    It had been a few hours since Olivia followed Kael into the cave and Nbay¨¦ had also walked in.


    The sky was dark and a white moon hung in the sky, providing light to the world below.


    Zabita, Diane, and Priya were lazing around, not particularly doing anything important.


    Ruda the purple lioness was sleeping soundly beside Zabita, if not the place would be a lot more noisy.


    "Mum, what are we going to do for the next one month? I¡¯m already bored," Zabita said with a bored expression.


    She lay on her side and her head stared blankly at the moon.


    "We wait, Zabita. Once Nalii, Eidel, and Katari evolve, we will be able to speed up our progress in taking over the mountain." Priya said with a thoughtful expression that seemed to always be on her face.


    Although Zabita and Priya were mother and daughter, the relationship between them was of equals at best.


    "I know, but are we just going to hang around and do nothing for the month?" Zabita asked.


    Diane scoffed, "We¡¯ll go around and beat up anyone that tries to disturb our territory."


    Priya laughed at Diane, causing the matter to frown. Diane didn¡¯t like people laughing at her and Priya would be in serious danger if she was not part of the pride.


    "You¡¯re always looking for a reason to fight, aren¡¯t you worried that you could die?" Priya laughed in the middle of her chuckles.


    "Of course not, fighting is the only thing that gets me pumped up. I feel so alive when I see the blood I spilled, it makes me feel like I¡¯m on another plane, like I¡¯m enlightened." Diane puffed her chest out and she spoke truthfully.


    "Instead of that, we could work on our communication, talk with ourselves, and use our words. Life isn¡¯t all about fighting, you know." Priya returned.


    Diane looked at Priya like she had just said the most heretic thing. "Let¡¯s use our words?" Her eyes twitched uncontrollably.


    Watching this from the side, Zabita wore a casual smile.


    "What? Muscle heads like you won¡¯t understand that a lot can be achieved without spilling blood." Priya looked at the muscular lioness with disdain.


    "Are you saying you don¡¯t want to fight for Kael?" Diane suddenly asked with a sly smile.


    Priya choked on her saliva when she heard this question, "What do you mean?"


    "When Kael wants his enemies destroyed, are you going to argue about it? Are you going to use your words?" Diane asked.


    "Of-of course not¡­ I¡­I¡­" Priya tried to gather her words.


    "Humph, you weren¡¯t stammering before, what happened?


    And you also kill when you want to eat, don¡¯t be hypocritical." Diane edged on, satisfied with Priya¡¯s reaction.


    "Dialogues will be necessary in some areas of life. I said life¡¯s not all about fighting, I didn¡¯t say we won¡¯t have to fight at all okay," Priya answered with a dissatisfied frown on her face.


    Diane instantly flared up, "Shut up, what do you know about life?" She suddenly lunged at Priya.


    Priya calmly stepped to the side, easily dodging the playful attack, "I¡¯m smarter than you, so I know more than you."


    Diane turned around, only to receive a slap with Priya¡¯s tail. She instinctively opened her mouth and bit hard on the tail.


    "Ouch!" Priya shouted. Luckily, Diane had held back just in time.


    Priya threw paws and rapidly landed multiple slaps on Diane¡¯s face. It soon turned into a harmless tussle with Diane mostly overpowering Priya.


    Zabita watched this with a bored look. Her metal claw aimlessly ran through the dirt ground, an action of hers to entertain herself.


    She heard footsteps and looked to the cave entrance to see who was coming out. Her eyes widened when a funny smell entered her nose.


    Out from the cave came Olivia. Olivia seemed to have difficulty walking, even though she had four limbs.


    Her legs wobbled and her eyes showed signs of exhaustion. On her neck was dried-up saliva and some bite marks.


    Diane and Priya stopped what they were doing to look at Olivia, who looked like she had been beaten up.


    Despite her appearance, the smile on her face had never been so wide. "Hello guys¡­" Her voice was weak, like she wanted to sleep.


    The three other lionesses didn¡¯t say anything. They could smell the funny scent from Olivia, something that they had only perceived in N¡¯bay¨¦ before.


    They guessed what had happened without asking. But why?


    They watched Olivia collapse to the ground and instantly sink into a deep slumber.


    Didn¡¯t Kael always behave like he wasn¡¯t attracted to them sexually?


    They remembered that they had thrown multiple hints at Kael to let him know they were ready. Yet, he acted like he didn¡¯t see anything.


    Then they saw him engage in the act multiple times with N¡¯bay¨¦ and it really broke their hearts. Then N¡¯bay¨¦ told them that Kael seemed to only be interested in a humanoid figure.


    Maybe, if they advanced to tier 3 and got their humanoid forms, Kael would be sexually attracted to them.


    This was one of the reasons they were downcast when Kael gave that wolf heart to Eidel.


    Now, they were just confused. Priya was the first to recover, she wore a calm gaze and walked away, apparently going on a stroll. This was her way of letting them know she needed space to think.


    Zabita stared at Olivia¡¯s sleeping body with interest. Her droopy eyelids rose higher the more she confirmed what was on her mind.


    Diane thought about it for a moment then gave up. She lay down to rest since there was nothing else to do.


    None of them tried to get into the cave to confirm their guesses with their bodies.


    Ruda slept quietly through this, electric sparks sometimes flying through her fur.


    #######


    Inside the cave, Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ stood up in their humanoid forms, breathing hard.


    Runes flashed on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s body, magically wiping off the stains on both their bodies.


    "Thank you," N¡¯bay¨¦ muttered. Kael simply nodded before walking deeper into the cave.


    "So, how was it? I saw wolves patrolling around." N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    "It was fine. It didn¡¯t go exactly as we planned but we succeeded. Thankfully, my brute force could overpower Bibi III¡¯s skills." Kael answered. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And what about the bear?" She asked.


    "Hmm, did you know that she had two cubs?"


    "Yeah,"


    "Anyways, I let her stay in the condition that she pledges allegiance to us. It¡¯s very risky but her cubs were the bargaining chip.


    I¡¯ll have to find use for her as soon as possible."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ nodded in agreement, "What about the heart of Bibi III." She asked.


    Kael didn¡¯t answer, he just continued walking until they reached the end of the cave.


    There, lying on the ground, curled up like massive infants, were three lionesses.


    One had vibrant green fur and two horns on her head. The second one had lustrous fur that was turning darker, space seemed to bend around her, and lightly twisted.


    The last was an orange-red lioness, the temperature around her was rising and Kael could feel the heat waves coming from her.


    The three lionesses were spread apart with Katari in the middle, Nalii on the left, and Eidel on the right.


    They were growing, albeit very slowly.


    "In approximately a month, we¡¯ll have three tier 3 lionesses in our ranks. By then, with our combined power, who would be able to stop us on this mountain."


    Kael could not help but let out a suspiciously evil laughter. He felt like a villain plotting the downfall of the hero in the dark.


    Of course, this was just a fleeting feeling.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ ignored his monologue and had her eyes trained on Katari¡¯s body. Katari, as if subconsciously sensing someone looking at her, twitched slightly.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ hurriedly took a step back to stand behind Kael. Kael was confused by this, then he realized something.


    "Are you scared of Katari?" He asked with an intriguing smile.


    "No," N¡¯bay¨¦ said with a frown. "She¡­"


    "She scares you. I know, she scares everyone." Kael said casually.


    "She¡¯s going to be scarier once she evolves," N¡¯bay¨¦ admitted.


    "Yes, the best part is that she¡¯s going to be on our side."


    "Our side?" N¡¯bay¨¦ questioned.


    "Yes,"


    "No, she won¡¯t be on OUR SIDE, she¡¯ll be on YOUR SIDE. Anybody that isn¡¯t you is not safe around her." N¡¯bay¨¦ stated.


    Kael smiled at her words, "Don¡¯t worry, as long as I¡¯m here, you¡¯re safe."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ couldn¡¯t tell whether Kael just said it casually or he actually meant it, "Okay," but she responded.


    "We need to make good use of this month¡¯s time. Maybe you can teach me magic.


    Magic is the only ability that I actually have to learn in order to use it."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ became a bit excited by this, "Yes, I can teach you magic. We can even learn a lot from each other."


    The simple topic of sharing knowledge got N¡¯bay¨¦ so excited that the runes on her body flashed repeatedly.


    Kael happily engaged her in this discussion as they walked away from the three evolving lionesses.

 Chapter 79: The Great Web

    One week later.


    Word had spread from one mind to the other, letting most of the creatures in the foreknow of the happenings.


    Webs carrying detailed information were spun and stretched to almost every corner of the known forest.


    That is, everywhere except the small region surrounding the mountain. Every animal, wise or dumb knew that the area surrounding the mountain was a no-go area.


    Originally, because of the average power level of animals that resided there, it was already bad if ordinary animals wandered there. But now, there were wolves.


    A particular area of the mountain foot had wolves going and coming in droves. They patrolled the whole area and hunted down anything they saw.


    Any creature that stumbled into that area and survived to tell the tale made sure to inform their comrades. Very few creatures could stay in that part of the forest and still survive easily.


    Most had to have a very high power level from the wolves to see them and just let them be.


    One of the creatures that found it easy to infiltrate this special part of the forest was the spiders.


    The few times Kael had seen the spiders, he always felt something odd about them. And there was indeed something odd about them.


    Under the earth, inside deep dark burrows, creepy slithering sounds echoed through the strong walls.


    The burrows, which started from multiple parts of the forest, connected to form a complex network of underground tunnels and caves.


    Spiders ranging from the size of a large dog to the size of a regular spider crept through the tunnel.


    Each burrow has its entrance covered by an intricately woven web. Each woven web had a web string that hung from the woven web and fell down the burrows.


    These web strings were long, extending all the way until they connected to another web string. Like this, multiple spider webs from the surface were interconnected marvelously, creating a bizarre network between themselves.


    At the big entrance of a particular burrow, the woven webs faced the sky. The webs were intricately woven with the strings very close to each other but never touching.


    It had eight points to hold its form to the edges of the burrow. The web was so finely woven that only a spider would be able to maneuver around it to get into the burrow without getting stuck.


    Behind the web, on the face that faced the dark insides of the burrow, a large black metallic spider elegantly clung to the woven web with its eight legs.


    Beside it, a long white web string led down to the depths of the burrow which turned into a wide tunnel.


    Suddenly, the web string glowed erratically for a brief moment, followed by a very unique vibration. This vibration was felt clearly by the large spider.


    It slowly opened its big eight black eyes like it was awakening from a long slumber. It flexed its long eight legs, revealing their full lengths and releasing a satisfying creaking sound.


    "Hmm, is that so?" A deep masculine voice spread out in the form of invisible telepathic waves.


    The spider, which from its voice, revealed itself to be male, extended one of his front legs to touch the web string.


    The point tip moved and the web string was wrapped around the spider¡¯s leg. The spider savored the new batch of information like it was the most delicious food.


    Then, the two curved fangs that it had for a mouth quivered. The spider¡¯s face remained placid though.


    He stretched his legs, climbing from the woven web to latch onto the burrow¡¯s walls.


    One sharp step at a time, he climbed down the burrow until he entered the tunnel his burrow was connected to.


    He began to walk down the tunnel in one direction, he walked into some cave and met some spiders there, apparently hanging out.


    These spiders were usually of a different species. Some were green and tall, some were red and spiky, and some were black and metallic, like him.


    The only common thing between all these spider subspecies was the spirit energy that they constantly emitted.


    This was the weird thing about spiders. Not only did each of them have access to certain elemental powers, they all had the same access to the spirit power.


    That was to say, each spider had two different powers: A unique power and a spirit power.


    Why else could the spiders grow so powerful if not for this? This type of racial advantage could not be seen in any other creature in the forest.


    Adding this to their unique spider physiology that helped them mold how their powers were used, they were a force to be weary of.


    As the black spider walked through the tunnels and caves, walking over the web strings lying down everywhere, he didn¡¯t have any conversation with any of the spiders that he met.


    Not even a greeting, the spiders that he met minded their business in turn. One would assume they had never seen themselves before now when that wasn¡¯t the case.


    It was as if they had an unspoken agreement with each other to mind their business whenever they met.


    There would even be an occasional expression of hostility through their telepathic waves whenever one of the spiders got close to the other


    They were trying too hard to avoid each other even though their webs were all connected in one way or the other.


    If Kael were here, he would wonder how a race that could be so connected in the most bizarre network be so disconnected from themselves.


    The black spider continued walking until it reached a cave. This cave was very wide and had a high ceiling.


    This cave also had multiple spiders gathered and facing a particular direction with fanatical gazes.


    Most of these spiders were black and metallic like the one that just entered. There were a few that were of a different species but they were not much.


    As soon as the black spider entered the cave, his eight eyes were filled with awe and admiration as he looked at the center of the cave, just like the rest.


    All of these spiders had auras that could easily rival a tier 2 wolf. None of them were small fry.


    "Good day brother," One of the spiders surprisingly greeted him.


    "Good day sister," And surprisingly, he greeted back.


    "Good day¡­"


    "Good day¡­"


    "Good day¡­" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The spiders in this cave all greeted themselves, calling each other brother or sister like they were siblings.


    "WELCOME CHILDREN!"


    A telepathic voice that was filled with vast power spread through the cave like a tsunami. Its origin point was the center.


    "Good day brood master!" The spiders, who numbered more than a hundred, answered at the same time.


    At the center of this gathering was a large humanoid figure. At least, it looked humanoid.


    This figure was tall, more than seven feet tall. Its lower body was that of a large black metallic spider while its upper body was a busty pale-skinned woman.


    The woman looked middle-aged with a beautiful face and well-positioned shoulders.


    She had two large eyes and six tiny black dots on her cheeks. Three on the left, then three on the right.


    "I am glad you all could make it upon receiving my message. If not for this level of discipline, we would not have become one of the most successful Web Handlers on The Great Web." The so-called ¡¯brood master¡¯ spoke with elation and the surrounding spiders listened attentively.


    "The reason I called for this meeting is to discuss the new changes on the surface world.


    The arrival of he who is called Kael has caused unforeseen changes.


    And of recent, the wolves of the Bibi clan have come under his rule, serving as his soldiers.


    Some of us may be enemies of the wolves, yet, Kael could serve as a very beneficial patron to our group."


    Hearing her words, the spiders began to converse with each other in hushed tones. Indeed, some of them were enemies of the wolves and their fangs quivered from rage.


    One of the spiders, red with yellowish hair on its legs, was at the front of the gathering with a thoughtful expression.


    "Do you have something to say? You can speak up." The brood master leaned down to look at the red spider. Her breasts dangled as she smiled warmly at this red spider.


    The spider hesitated for a moment before stepping forward.


    "Hush!" The brood master commanded and instantly, the talking spiders ended their chatter.


    The red spider spoke up, "I understand that this Kael is a very unpredictable person. His decision isn¡¯t always what it says it is, we can see this from how he annexed the Bibi Clan.


    We can be assured that he is a very ambitious individual and, therefore, very dangerous.


    However, such a person would usually be very beneficial as their need for valuable information is always higher than the average forest dweller.


    He might work with the wolves but if we are being as practical as we have always been, we should pick benefits over any sentiments.


    This is just my suggestion brood master."


    After saying that, the red spider took a step back to regain her place within the crowd.


    The brood master shook her head slightly with a mysterious smile. She turned to another spider, a black and metallic one who had been fidgeting all this time.


    "Yes, do you have any suggestions?" She asked.


    Immediately, the black spider rushed out and said with his heart filled with rage, "We should immediately label him as an enemy.


    People like him should not be trusted, no matter how much benefit we could get. It¡¯s not worth the risk.


    Plus, he¡¯s working with the wolves. Who knows whether they have already made plans for us.


    This is just my suggestion brood master."


    As soon as he said that, the brood master began to laugh like she had heard the funniest joke ever. Even some other spiders joined in on the laugh, knowing fully well what the brood master considered ¡¯funny.¡¯


    "Hahaha¡­ made plans for us?.... hahaha¡­"

 Chapter 80: Web Handlers

    After their short episode of laughter, the spiders resumed their blank expressions.


    "Unfortunately, you put too much emotion in your decision-making." The brood master said to the black spider. "We shall discuss this in detail, does anyone have any update on the Sky Cracks?"


    She directed this question to everyone in general. The spiders began to whisper again, talking amongst themselves like market women eager to share some gossip.


    A frown appeared on the Brood Master¡¯s face as she saw this, "So none of you have any information?


    Is it because I never asked formally?" Her tone took on a murderous intent quite easily, as though she was used to talking like this.


    The spiders inside the cave all shivered when they got that killing intent through the telepathic waves.


    "Brood master!" One of the spiders, which was green and gentle looking with beautiful black patterns on its abdomen, walked through the crowd to stand in front of the brood master.


    "Yes¡­" She gestured for the green spider to speak.


    "Thank you, brood master.


    I have actually taken the time to inquire about the flashing sky cracks.


    According to what I have gathered, this year is not the first time these sky cracks have happened, and it has also been way worse than it is now.


    Most of the creatures who have known about this sky crack before are very old. And the majority of them never saw it with their own eyes, they just heard it from their parents.


    One of those who have seen it, the tortoise of the pink meadow, said that it had been way worse than this.


    He said that he saw white cracks cover the sky and spread way beyond the forest. It looked like something or someone was trying to pass through from the other side.


    He remembered hearing a roar filled with rage. However, it was too vague and he couldn¡¯t identify the type of animal that had made that roar.


    As for the Sky Cracks that we see now, he doesn¡¯t know if it would cause the entity on the other side to break free.


    That is what I gathered from Brood Master."


    After saying that, the green spider took steps back.


    "Hmm, and what did you give in return for this information?" The brood master asked.


    "He only desired the whereabouts of the ocean and the mating time for the sea turtles. He says he would like to see the sea turtles one last time before he dies.


    This wasn¡¯t crucial information so I packaged it and gave it to him." The green spider replied.


    "Good good good, that will increase our credibility and reputation amongst other creatures once this transaction leaks out. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Did you remember to tell him which Web Handler group you belong to?"


    "Yes, Brood Master. I told him to remember the Darktale Web Handlers."


    "That¡¯s good. As for the Sky Cracks¡­" The brood master revealed a worried expression.


    "...We can only continue observing for now.


    As for Kael, we shall make contact with him soon. Let us test the waters, I just hope he isn¡¯t as narrow-minded as those other guys on the mountain¡­"


    At this time, one of the black spiders shot up to say something but instinctively retracted its legs, remembering the rules of their group.


    At the same time, it had to let this information be known to the brood master, or else¡­ The consequences for withholding crucial information were not one to take lightly.


    "What is it?" The brood master saw the shaking spider and gestured for him to share what he had.


    "Brood Master, this is very sensitive news.


    There is word that the crimson tiger is about to evolve again."


    The brood master frowned and the six dots on her cheeks shrunk into tiny black points.


    "Darius?" She asked, a look of dread in her eyes, but this look was very imperceptible.


    "Where did you get this information from? None of you could possibly sneak up that mountain to see Darius and come back alive."


    The black spider shook as it said, "This information was gotten from a random eagle that was just fortunate to get close after Isaiah disappeared for some time.


    Isaiah who would sometimes hang around the skies close to the mountain was nowhere to be found.


    At the altitude the eagle was at that time, he could see with his special eyes how power was building up around Darius¡¯s cave.


    Besides that, I have no way of checking if this information is credible or not."


    "Did you kill the eagle?" The brood master asked.


    "No, brood master. Although I was tempted to silence him for good." The black spider replied.


    The brood master nodded her head, "It¡¯s good that you didn¡¯t kill the eagle. Let him spread this rumor and we will watch how the forest will react.


    At the same time, that Kael guy would definitely value this information¡­" A mischievous smile appeared on the brood master¡¯s beautiful face.


    She chuckled like an evil maniac, causing her big breasts to jiggle mesmerizingly.


    "I¡¯m sure you guys didn¡¯t release all the information you had to our private web network, tell them to me now." She said with a devilish smile that caused all the spiders to shiver.


    ######


    A pack of wolves had just killed two big stags and were dragging them to the mountain.


    One of the wolves was Bibi IV, the war wolf and son of the deceased Bibi III. Also the commander of the wolf soldiers.


    With him were twenty ordinary wolves and one tier 2 wolf. The tier two wolf with him was the only spirit wolf that they had.


    Bibi wanted this spirit wolf to follow him so that he could have a means to easily communicate with the ordinary wolves. Since he wasn¡¯t a tier 3 wolf yet, he could only depend on the spirit wolf for telepathy.


    "How long is this going to last?" The spirit wolf suddenly asked.


    "Hmm?" Bibi turned to give the spirit wolf a threatening look.


    "Sorry. How long is this going to last¡­Commander Bibi?" The spirit wolf restructured his words according to how Commander Bibi liked it.


    "How long is what going to last?" Bibi IV asked.


    "This¡­ this situation we have found ourselves in. We now have to share some of our food with the lions just because they now rule us.


    It just doesn¡¯t feel right. They only join us in hunting when we discover a herd or something big. Besides that, they just laze around and eat our hard work." As the spirit wolf spoke, he could not hide the indignance he felt.


    "*Sigh*" Bibi IV sighed like he had been made to answer this type of question multiple times.


    "Everything we are doing now is just for the meantime. You see, we are building the foundation of a kingdom that will be very prosperous in the future.


    You say they laze around, but if they did that all the time, would they have gotten the strength to challenge us?


    Besides, they are our backers, so it¡¯s only right that we feed them till they push the responsibilities to another animal caste.


    I mean, we can follow how you feel and just stop sending food to them. But remember, a hungry lion is an angry lion.


    My father could not survive, talk less of you." Bibi IV said this with a straight face.


    He was this loyal to the lions because Kael had given him what he wanted. Power over the wolves.


    Although this power came with some restrictions, he was satisfied. All he wanted now was to get stronger.


    "Oh, and don¡¯t bring this up again, keep such thoughts to yourself. If not, I¡¯ll report you to the King." Bibi IV said.


    When the spirit wolf heard this, he immediately suppressed all the unwillingness in his heart.


    As a spirit wolf, it was somewhat hard for him to manage his emotions despite his high level of intelligence.


    Seeing the conflicted expression on the spirit wolf¡¯s face, Bibi IV smiled, feeling drunk on power.


    ¡¯It sure feels nice to have a powerful backer. Father never let me play with such power.¡¯ This thought fleeted through Commander Bibi¡¯s head.


    Leading the ordinary wolves to drag the two stags, Bibi IV led them to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave where they saw a few lionesses at the cave entrance.


    Almost all the lionesses were lying on the ground, only one was standing and it looked like she just got up.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael were nowhere to be seen.


    "You can take one and leave the other. The king will send his thanks." Ruda, who was the lioness standing, said as she walked over to them.


    As she approached them, pink and purple electricity would sometimes fly out of her purple fur. She looked like she was ready to burst out with unprecedented savageness.


    The hair on the bodies of the wolves stood on end as the electric field brushed up on their bodies.


    "That one has bad thoughts about Kael." Priya suddenly stood up and said as she looked at the spirit wolf.


    Hearing this, the spirit wolf¡¯s eyes widened in shock and his legs began to shake.

 Chapter 81: Nigh Omnipresent

    Electricity instantly spread out as Ruda zoomed toward the spirit wolf at shocking speed.


    The wolf shivered as Ruda halted in front of him. Because of their natural sizes, lions were naturally bigger than wolves.


    Ruda towered over him by a head, looking down at him with an intense gaze.


    Priya, who had seemingly pointed him out, walked over calmly. "You dare harbor harmful thoughts toward the King?" She asked as her eyes narrowed.


    Bibi IV looked at the spirit wolf with an annoyed gaze. This wolf was just so annoying today, if only they had another spirit wolf.


    "No¡­No, I wasn¡¯t¡­" The spirit wolf defended himself while stammering.


    "So you are calling me a liar?" Priya asked. Her body faded away and the spirit wolf subconsciously blinked his eyes.


    That blink revealed that Priya was right in front of him, standing beside Ruda and looking at him.


    The spirit wolf was aware that he was nowhere near Priya in terms of skill but this was just too much.


    The fact that she could glimpse at his thoughts even though he also had spirit energy made him sweat.


    As he looked into her eyes, he saw the two eyeballs slowly transform from black and white to spirals of grey and black.


    The spirit wolf could not remove his eyes like he was sealed to stare forever. Soon, he found himself in a trance, unable to speak or move unless asked to.


    Priya looked at the stiff spirit wolf with some pride, admiring her work.


    "What is your plan against King Kael?" She asked the spirit wolf.


    "Nothing," The spirit wolf answered instantly like a machine.


    "Are you planning anything with anyone?" Priya asked another question.


    "No, I am not."


    "Why do you harbor malevolent thoughts toward King Kael?"


    "I simply feel extreme dissatisfaction." The spirit wolf answered.


    "Hmm," Priya nodded, then turned away as if she was done playing with her toy.


    The spirit wolf snapped out of his trance, realizing all that he had unwillingly said. He looked at Priya¡¯s retreating form in fear.


    "Keep your discontent to yourself," Ruda said as she drew close to the spirit wolf. The grey fur on his body stood on end, making him look like a fur ball.


    "That¡¯s what I told him!" Bibi IV hurriedly said. Although he didn¡¯t like the behavior of this spirit wolf, he had to protect him since this was the only spirit wolf they had for now.


    Ruda glanced at Bibi IV, causing him to avoid eye contact. She scoffed before walking away.


    "Quick, take the other one, let¡¯s go." Commander Bibi ordered the twenty wolves.


    Soon, they left the premises. Ruda single-handedly dragged the stag to the other lionesses.


    Meanwhile, Kael was aware of all this even though he wasn¡¯t there.


    "How does it feel?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked as she sat cross-legged with her back against one of the six trees in the clearing.


    Kael sat down cross-legged in the center of the clearing. His breathing was stable and his eyes were closed.


    Each tree had a string of light flowing out of it and these six strings of multicolored light stretched from the magic runes engraved in the trees.


    Each string flowed to the center and attached itself to the body of Kael. Three glowing strings bore into his head and the remaining three bore into his neck. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His golden eyes now had a multicolored hue to them, like an extra membrane that came over them.


    "It feels¡­different," Kael said, speechless and unable to find words to describe how he felt.


    For the first time in existence, Kael had a glimpse of what it was like to be nigh omnipresent.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ just smiled, knowing how Kael was feeling right now. She too had been like this when she first experienced it.


    "I¡­I can see¡­everything." Kael stammered.


    "I can hear everything. I can FEEL everything." Kael said while his voice got higher. He seemed to be going crazy.


    "Not everything, you can only see the places my Observation Runes are placed. Although they are placed in multiple places, they are not everywhere." N¡¯bay¨¦ shook her head to explain to Kael.


    Kael didn¡¯t really pay attention to what N¡¯bay¨¦ was saying, he was lost in the world he was now part of.


    Words could not be used to describe how he now observed the world. No human mind could begin to comprehend it, they could only imagine what it was like but they could never understand.


    If there was a way to describe how it was to see multiple things at the same time from different places and still have his brain filter out the information to understand it, Kael would gladly do so.


    Kael could see the bottom of the river where they had killed the water snake. He saw how murky it was, even the dust particles did not escape his senses.


    He felt the coldness of the water, he also knew which direction the water was flowing in. The fishes swam by his point of sight, they swam by the rock which he used to observe this river floor.


    At that same time, Kael was also looking at a little rabbit munching on some shrubs and mushrooms.


    The trees in this place had vibrant green leaves and allowed sunlight to penetrate through the green leaves.


    Kael watched as the rabbit¡¯s fur changed to a reddish color after taking the mushroom. It seemed to go mad and hyperactive as it ran around, bashing its little body into the closest tree.


    Its eyes were red and unfocused, showing the level at which it was intoxicated.


    He also saw the scene of Priya interrogating the spirit wolf, he saw Ruda intimidating them with her superior racial advantage.


    He saw stone arrangements, he saw the forest from a higher perspective, and he even saw a tunnel that ran underground with many spiders occasionally going through them.


    He saw everything the observation runes saw and he felt what the runic objects felt. Kael couldn¡¯t tell whether he was a stone at the bottom of the river or a leaf hanging from a tree.


    He was connected to something far greater than what he had ever experienced and it was simply magnificent.


    "If you check, you will notice that the farther the stones, the lower the quality of what you can see," N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    Kael heard N¡¯bay¨¦ and checked this. Indeed, the images he got from farther areas were blurry and some were hard to make heads or tails of.


    "This is very amazing N¡¯bay¨¦. It¡¯s hard to imagine that you came up with this through experimentation." Kael praised.


    He controls one of the runes on a tree branch to spit out blue electricity at the rampaging rabbit. This rabbit was ordinary, it was fried immediately.


    Only ten seconds had passed before an eagle swooped down to pick up the dead rabbit.


    Kael took note of the mushrooms and the area they were in for now.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ simply smiled at the praises, knowing that any Magus Lion who had the same level of intelligence as she had would be able to come up with the same thing.


    "Do you think there needs to be any improvements?" She asked.


    Kael paused, observing the images. "Mobility. All that is needed is mobility."


    As Kael said this, he remembered the great cosmic battle that Noel and the lions had with the dragons.


    In that memory, many lions, some from species that he had never seen before, had come out to use their powers. They used their abilities in ways Kael hadn¡¯t thought of.


    One of them was the magus lions who used magic vessels to control large volumes of magic energy with multiple artifacts as mediums.


    They mostly used magic shuttles, something that looked like a Sci-Fi spaceship, as a center of control.


    Multiple magic drones and puppets hovered around these magic shuttles. Along with the powerful blasters that had already been mounted on the magic shuttles, the added drones just made them deadlier.


    Magic was most efficient when it was controlled and channeled through a medium. Just like how N¡¯bay¨¦ used this six-tree clearing as a medium to control many magic runes all over the forest at the same time.


    No matter how many runes she drew on her body, she would never be able to achieve the same effect unless she evolved.


    But once she evolved, it would just go full circle as that would mean she could be even more effective and powerful if she had mediums to use.


    Magus lions were like scientists, inventors, or engineers. Their minds tended to work the same way.


    They could write a book about their ideas and theories but the substances produced from their intelligent mind will always be better.


    "Mobility?" N¡¯bay¨¦ wondered. Her mind began to spin as she quickly began to simulate multiple scenarios and draw imaginary sketches.


    She too became lost in thought just like Kael.


    *SWOOSH!*


    Kael just then, noticed strange activities in one of the rivers. He immediately put his focus on that area.


    Multiple stones and logs that had magic runes on them began to shine with a very dim glow.


    Kael caught sight of the source of the disturbance.


    Seven large figures rushed faster than the water current, causing seven moving bulges to appear over the flowing river.


    Kael got a closer look and his eyes widened. Those things looked like the water lions he had seen in Noel¡¯s memory.


    And there was something familiar about the one in the middle.

 Chapter 82: Piranhas

    Apart from the fact that the leading aquatic lion looked very familiar, there was another thing that seemed to be wrong.


    The seven of them were moving fast, very fast. And from how their body twisted and turned, they were in a hurry.


    ¡¯Are they running from something?¡¯ Kael wondered.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦, does this forest have any other lions? Water lions maybe?" Kael asked N¡¯bay¨¦, pulling her out of her deep thoughts.


    "No, none that I know of. Some have come in the past but they all left at some point because they could not conquer much here."


    "Hmm," Kael didn¡¯t say anything, he continued observing the moving water lions.


    Then he saw their pursuers.


    "My goodness!" Kael¡¯s eyes widened.


    The things pursuing these water lions were piranhas, fast and deadly piranhas.


    Each piranha was just slightly smaller than a human head with some of them being slightly bigger.


    Their mouths were wide and open, filled with large teeth that stuck out of the edges of their mouths.


    The large needle-like sharp teeth were white like polished jade but instead of adding beauty to their visage, it just made them look scarier.


    Their deep red eyes that seemed to be oversized for their head revealed a mixture of mindlessness and ferocity that Kael had never seen before.


    It was as if they were machines designed to do a certain task in the most brutal way possible.


    What was worse was that these piranhas numbered in hundreds if not thousands. Thousands of piranhas rushed through the water, chasing after the seven water lions with suffocating killing intent.


    Among these piranhas, the majority of them emitted auras that were a sign of them having awakened their Hearts and gained powers.


    And all the piranhas with awakened hearts all had powerful waters swirling around them.


    The limbs of the seven lions kicked violently in the water, propelling them forward at great speeds.


    The male water lion at the front got close to one of the Observation Runes engraved on a stone, allowing Kael to see his face clearly.


    "Burdo?" Kael was shocked. Wasn¡¯t this his brother who had been banished from the Hot Lion pride?


    Despite the face that was now covered in fish-like scales instead of fur, he could still recognize him.


    He had already begun to think he would never see Burdo again, but here he was. Kael could only wonder what had happened to him during the past year for him to become a water lion.


    And who were the six water lionesses following him?


    Kael was not particularly happy to be seeing Burdo at this time. If anything, he was somewhat annoyed.


    Burdo wasn¡¯t really someone to be liked, even when he was a cub. He was greedy, possessive, and aggressive at every slight disagreement.


    Even their mother, Nalii, disliked him very much.


    The only reason he left the Hot Lion Pride was because he was beaten up by their father.


    ¡¯Why don¡¯t they just leave the water and run away on land?¡¯ Kael wondered to himself.


    As if to answer his question, one of the lionesses got close to the river edge while swimming fast. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She jumped out of the river to land on the stony ground. She immediately began running with her limbs which Kael could see were webbed.


    She was slower on land than she was in the water but at least, the piranhas could not get to her. That is what Kael thought.


    A group of piranhas, about a hundred, deviated away from the majority and swam straight for the lioness.


    The piranhas didn¡¯t slow down when faced with the rocky edge, rather, they sped up. Blue light erupted as water rose from the river and formed a stream that chased after the lioness.


    Like a separate water road that branched out of the river, the water stream carried the piranhas above the land and straight toward the running lioness.


    Now, the piranhas were very fast inside the floating water stream and the lioness who had been using her limbs to run away could not outrun them.


    Before she knew it, the water stream caught up with her and surrounded her like a water snake. The water converged and collapsed on her, allowing the killer fishes to make immediate contact.


    No sound was heard from the formed water dome. Only the image of multiple fishes swimming swiftly and the cloud of blood that was coming from the center let Kael know what was going on.


    The water dome collapsed again and then turned into a water stream that headed straight for the river while carrying the piranhas away.


    All that was left behind was a red-ish lion skeleton where the water lioness was supposed to be.


    There was still a bit of flesh stuck to the bones of the lioness. What was more astounding was that the skeleton was having a stance where it was in the process of swinging its claws.


    Almost everything was eaten away. The organs, the eyeballs, the tail¡­ Everything except the brain which they couldn¡¯t get to and the bones were gone.


    The lioness had put up a fight but she had also died a very painful death before she could cause any damage.


    By the time all the piranhas were back in the water, the skeleton collapsed into a pile of bones.


    This was why the lions had chosen to swim away rather than run away. If they tried to escape the piranhas on land, they would be slower while the piranhas would just use the Water Way to catch up.


    But if they stuck to escaping through the river, they still had a chance.


    Everything happened so fast, that the five other water lions did not have the opportunity to call out to their comrade. They could only look behind them to accept the sudden absence of one of their pride members.


    A look of sadness and frustration appeared in their eyes but it was overpowered by fear and their willingness to live. Not having the power to do much, they could only continue swimming away.


    And in doing so, they were moving closer to the mountain and bringing these piranhas with them.


    ¡¯They are so untrained.¡¯ Kael concluded with a calm expression. He didn¡¯t seem to be bothered by the fact that killer piranhas were coming closer to ¡¯his¡¯ mountain.


    Kael could see that the water lions didn¡¯t know how to use the powers they had. They were good and fast swimmers, fine, but that was all that they showed.


    It looked as if they had only awakened their hearts not long ago. If not, Kael could think of a couple of ways they could use the power of water to escape this predicament.


    "What is it?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    "See for yourself," Kael said as one of the trees released another magic string that pierced into N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s head.


    Immediately, she was able to see what was happening. She frowned, noticing the location where this was happening and how fast they were approaching the river close to the mountain.


    "The one in front is my brother," Kael said, feeling he should let her know just in case.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ raised an eyebrow, surprised to hear this. "What do you want to do? Do you want to save them?" She asked.


    Kael thought for a while, thinking of whether he should save them or not. Even if he decided to save them, he didn¡¯t like the idea of Burdo staying close to him or his pride.


    "Yes, we can benefit from this." Kael finally said after thinking thoroughly about it.


    He had been meaning to establish a clan and needed lesser prides anyway, he might as well start now.


    "Okay then," N¡¯bay¨¦ said indifferently. She was only worried about the piranhas and didn¡¯t care about what happened to Kael¡¯s brother.


    Kael then contacted the creatures he thought would best handle this situation.


    He saw that Priya was meditating and didn¡¯t want to disturb her. Zabita and Diane would not be efficient in the water either.


    "Ruda, I want you to do something for me¡­" He sent a telepathic message to Ruda.


    Ruda nodded before wordlessly leaving the cave entrance and running toward the direction of the river.


    Not just Ruda, Kael also contacted three tier-two wolves. The two fire wolves and the spirit wolf. He ordered Bibi IV to continue his patrol without the aid of his assistants.


    Ruda was like a streak of lightning, rushing past trees and leaving a purple electric trail behind.


    In a few minutes, she had reached the river just in time to see water splashes far away. She could see the mass of bodies moving fast towards her.


    She immediately ran toward them from the riverside. She soon got closer, allowing her to see the five water lions and the countless piranhas chasing them.


    She slid to a sudden halt, kicking up dust into the air. Her sudden appearance did not go unnoticed by the water lions and the piranhas.


    Burdo and his lionesses didn¡¯t pay much attention to her as they were more focused on running for their lives.


    The piranhas, not the kind to ignore free food, took action. A group of them, just like before, rushed to Ruda¡¯s position. They activated their special Water Way technique, allowing them to burst out of the river and swim toward Ruda with their sharp teeth bared.


    Ruda simply stared at them with her usual level of craziness as purple electricity crackled all over her body.

 Chapter 83: Food

    The floating water stream quickly approached Ruda who stood and waited for this to happen.


    The water stream carrying the piranhas quickly converged and surrounded Ruda¡¯s form. They formed a dome around the purple lioness, ready to do to her what they had done to other creatures in the past.


    From the corner, one could only see a dome of water with multiple killer fish swimming rapidly inside it with amazing speed.


    Then there was a purple flash. It came just as soon as it went but it was followed by another.


    The appearance of this purple flash caused the piranhas to pause their movement for some time. It looked like they had been stunned by something and had forgotten how to move.


    The purple flashes increased in quantity and intensity, bringing the piranha cyclone to a full halt.


    Purple electricity crackled and burst out of the water dome with great ferocity. Now, the piranhas quivered as they received the most terrifying electric shock of their life.


    Hundreds of these head-sized piranhas, frozen in the water with their mouths wide open. That which they thought was prey had turned out to be a predator.


    Another power purple flash came out in the form of three claw marks. First, the fishes that were in the way of this powerful claw attack were blasted to death, their body parts flying out of the water dome or spinning erratically inside of it.


    Their blood formed a red cloud that permeated through the water dome, hindering the already low-quality vision that the piranhas had.


    A few more purple flashes and the water dome finally collapsed. All this didn¡¯t take more than six seconds from the point they got out of the water to the moment they surrounded Ruda.


    The water dome collapsed to reveal Ruda, standing there with her fur wet. Water dripped down from her body as purple and pink electricity continuously shot out from her body.


    Around her was a pile of dead piranhas as well as the smell of boiled fish. The wind would eventually carry this scent further into the forest which could cause some trouble.


    Just then, tree wolves ran into the area. It was the two fire wolves and the spirit wolf.


    Following Kael¡¯s orders, the spirit wolf immediately positioned himself in front of the running water lions.


    "Come with me if you want to live!" He shouted to them telepathically.


    The water lions were shocked by the voice they heard in their head, and the fact that they even understood what was said was puzzling to them.


    As lions who had never really met a creature with spirit powers, they had little to no resistance against the spirit wolf¡¯s persuasive voice.


    With a sudden blind trust that they had never had before, they jumped out of the water and ran after the spirit wolf who had already begun running away too.


    A brief decision of uncertainty came over Burdo, causing him to look back at his pursuers. Luckily, two bright red wolves and one purple lioness stood in between him and the approaching piranhas.


    The biggest piranha, the one at the front who was way bigger than a human head, let out a sickening screech as he flapped his fins with all his might and jumped out of the river.


    He wasn¡¯t going to let this food source go just like that.


    The piranhas behind him followed his lead, jumping out of the water, and following them was their Water Way that carried them to land.


    However, at this time, multiple stones with runic engravings lit up all over the area.


    Dozens of them were glowing at the bottom of the river and a couple of them glowed by the riverside. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Blue electricity burst out of these stones and struck the water that the thousands of piranhas were swimming in. Even those who were in mid-air, in the process of continuing their chase on land were affected.


    But the collective power of these magic stones could not contain all of them. Many of the piranhas broke out of the group with the use of mini Water Ways.


    This was where Ruda and the two fire wolves became useful. Fire and electricity burst out as the trio chased after the piranhas that had got out of the main group.


    As electricity was very effective in bypassing defenses, Ruda¡¯s victims died quickly but painfully. Simply brushing her body against the bodies of the piranhas was more than enough for them to die of shock.


    The fire wolves only attacked the piranhas that had come out of the river as these piranhas had limited water that couldn¡¯t be replaced once it was dried up.


    They barraged the piranhas with their flames, causing the water to boil and evaporate with the fish inside.


    A light show filled with electricity and flames was how one could describe the scene.


    By the time the piranhas could register the danger they were in, it was too late. The smell of their comrades¡¯ blood filled their senses and caused them to immediately be alarmed.


    They tried to get back and swim again the river to escape, but how could Kael let them go just like that? Blue electricity burst out with terrifying and visible might.


    Only a small percentage of the piranhas were able to use their water abilities to force themselves out of the electric cage and away from the lioness and wolves.


    They rushed through the river with exceptional speed, quickly getting away from the formidable enemies.


    Ruda watched as the killer fishes swam away from the riverside. She wondered what was so difficult in taking care of these piranhas that those lions could not handle them.


    "Allow the ordinary wolves to feast," Kael commanded the wolves and Ruda. He was able to communicate over such a long distance by using the runes as a medium, like little network towers.


    Hearing Kael¡¯s orders, Ruda stood on guard while the fire wolves howled, calling for their numerous weaker comrades to come.


    The trio stood by, watching over the area to prevent any other predators from coming close.


    Kael felt that since an opportunity had come, he should make use of it. Discontent among the wolves was present whether he liked it or not.


    He could ignore it but it would be stupid for him to think they would naturally warm up to his leadership.


    The best way to increase loyalty among not just wolves but most animals was to feed them. It was marvelous how the simple act of feeding can make someone like you.


    This act was even more powerful if it was done at a time when the other party was hungry or in need of food.


    Kael remembered how the CEO of his company practically raised a rag-tag army of supporters by feeding and indulging the homeless or less privileged people in that area.


    One of those less privileged people had been a single mother of two starving children. After donations, the woman had so much support for the CEO that she would tell her children to treat the CEO as if he were their father.


    Such was the power of food.


    But Kael had to be careful as it was a double-edged sword. History was filled with examples of people who turned around to bite the hand that fed them.


    "Take over from here, I¡¯ll go and meet them," Kael said as the magic strings disconnected from his body.


    He stood up just as N¡¯bay¨¦ walked over to sit in the center of the six trees. The strings bore into her head and neck connecting her to the numerous runes spread out.


    Meanwhile, Burdo and his lionesses were running as fast as they could. They followed the large grey wolf in front of them even though they had no idea where he was going.


    Soon, the Spirit wolf stopped running, causing the five water lions to also stop.


    Their gills flared as they breathed in and out while feeling extremely exhausted. The large fin that stretched from Burdo¡¯s neck to his back folded and unfolded itself as his body tried to feel comfortable.


    The spirit wolf turned to look at them with a weary gaze. He didn¡¯t know who these creatures were but they bore a strong resemblance to the lions of Kael¡¯s pride.


    Since Kael directly asked that he lead them to this place, he guessed that they were related to him. He just didn¡¯t know if these creatures would be a good thing.


    He heard the howls of the two fire wolves as well as the distant sound of multiple wolves rushing in one direction.


    He grew agitated as he knew that was a signal to tell the wolves that a lot of food had been found.


    But he couldn¡¯t leave, he had to wait here as Kael had instructed. This caused him to look at the five lions with unhidden hostility.


    "..King?..." Burdo tried speaking telepathically, taking advantage of the hanel that the spirit wolf had opened.


    "Yes, the king." The spirit wolf said, looking at them with disdain.


    His pointy ears twitched as he heard the sound of sticks snapping under heavy footsteps.


    He looked to the side, sending his gaze past the trees to see a distant golden figure making its way to them.

 Chapter 84: Hello Brother

    Burdo looked to where the spirit wolf was looking and saw the distant golden figure approaching them.


    The trees seem to mysteriously shift to the side as that golden figure moves, allowing him to move in a straight line.


    As the figure got closer, Burdo was able to make out the shape and appearance of this entity.


    He subconsciously stepped back from fear. This was a lion, a really big lion at that.


    The golden lion had not yet arrived but he could estimate just how big he was. The majestic aura that oozed off of him pressed on his psyche the closer they got.


    This lion had beautiful golden fur that spoke of divine lineages. His mane was dark and full, covering his head and dropping down to his chest and shoulders.


    Every step he took caused his body and mane to tremble majestically. His limbs were muscular and screamed of terrifying strength. One paw forward and the ground seemed to be on the verge of sinking under his weight.


    As the lion got closer, Burdo could begin to see a familiar face. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure but as Kael drew closer, he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    It was a face he imagined seeing again but not in such circumstances. Wasn¡¯t this the little golden brother who always acted mysteriously?


    Wasn¡¯t this the brother that had divided the Hot Lion pride from the inside? Wasn¡¯t this the brother who had deprived him of his mother¡¯s love?


    For a second, Burdo overlapped the image of little Kael with the current Kael and almost acted on impulse.


    Luckily for him, Kael¡¯s frame which increasingly got larger the closer he got only deprived him of that audacity.


    Soon Kael stood in front of the spirit wolf and the five water lions in his lion form, looking down at them with an intense gaze.


    "Greetings, King Kael!" The spirit wolf said while he bowed his head and trembled. He was truly scared of Kael.


    There was a rumor that Kael had many powers which was the reason why he was so powerful. The spirit wolf knew that Kael had spiritual powers as he could practically feel the spirit energy being emitted by Kael occasionally.


    And there was no doubt that Kael was stronger than Priya. If Priya could easily read the mind of a spirit wolf, Kael would also be able to do it.


    Who knows if Kael already knew his thoughts before now? The more the spirit wolf thought about it, the more he grew fearful.


    It was worse when one realized that the only way for someone to not have his mind read by Kael was to either be stronger or stop thinking entirely.


    Neither of which was possible for the spirit wolf.


    "You may go," Kael said to the spirit wolf after glancing at him. Contrary to the spirit wolf¡¯s fears, Kael didn¡¯t bother to look into his mind.


    Just because he could didn¡¯t mean he would. He needed his mind free from distractions most of the day and reading people¡¯s minds at every turn would put him far from a peaceful mindset.


    The spirit wolf breathed a sigh of relief, glad that Kael didn¡¯t do anything out of the ordinary.


    "Thank you, King Kael," He said before bowing and running off, going back to the river.


    Kael turned to look at Burdo who was looking at him strangely. Both their eyes locked as they confirmed each other¡¯s identity.


    The lionesses behind Burdo all looked at Kael with caution. Some of them had strange glints in their eyes as they could see how attractive Kael was, in Lion aesthetics.


    He¡¯s big, he¡¯s golden, his mane was full and dark, his limbs served as evidence of his strength, and his golden eyes were beautiful and captivating even though they projected a dangerous hint of fierceness.


    From all angles. Kael was the ideal male every lioness could ever dream of.


    Compared to Burdo, a water lion with a significantly smaller stature and scales covering his body, he was lackluster when placed beside Kael.


    The only thing Burdo had going for him appearance-wise was the large foldable fin on his back which was a replacement for the mane on water lions.


    When Kael glanced at the lionesses, they hurriedly avoided his gaze, being shy rather than afraid.


    Burdo frowned when he saw the looks his lionesses were given by Kael. He did not like what was happening, not one bit. Not able to control himself, he growled softly, garnering him the attention of Kael.


    Kael revealed a look of interest as he looked at them. Burdo had every reason to feel discomfort, he knew it.


    He was reminded of Bethel, the second Primordial Lion, who had stolen the consorts of multiple pride leaders during his time.


    Bethel had been a menace simply because of his looks and his sexual appeal. This was a natural trait of all Primordial Lions and Kael also had this advantage.


    All Kael needed to do was put in a little effort and these water lionesses who were apparently Burdo¡¯s consorts would fall hopelessly for him.


    This was one of the reasons why the lionesses could wait for so long without any sexual activity. The absence of it just made it more appealing, deprivation just made them want it more.


    Unfortunately, Olivia had not been able to help herself¡­


    But Kael was not interested in these water lionesses in a sexual way, nor did he imagine any of them as his consorts. At least, Burdo had not yet given him a reason to think in that direction.


    Kael finally turned to face his brother, Burdo. He towered over Burdo even though the other was older.


    From the moment Kael had appeared, Burdo had been placed at a disadvantage, in terms of appearance and power.


    Kael did not come with any escort but Burdo had a feeling that Kael would be able to kill them all by himself. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As for why Burdo had not decided to run, he didn¡¯t know where to run in front of such an imposing lion.


    He was unbearable, not stupid. One look and he knew Kael would catch him no matter how fast he ran. It was better to stay still.


    "Hello brother," Kael spoke into the mind of Burdo, stunning the other party once again.


    "So it really is you," Burdo replied, not sounding excited at all. He subconsciously lowered his body a little, as if he was preparing to attack it and defend at any moment.


    The water lionesses also reacted in turn, snapping back to their right senses and becoming more cautious.


    "There will be no need for that," Kael said with a mysterious grey glow appearing in his golden eyes.


    Burdo felt a massive pressure on his mind like a large boulder pressing on his soul. Before he could react, everything turned black and his body collapsed to the ground.


    The five other water lionesses also collapsed immediately, sinking into unconsciousness as soon as Kael let out his spirit energy.


    Kael looked at their fallen forms with an inquisitive look, "Just what have you experienced since I last saw you?" Kael asked no one in particular.


    Two antler-like horns grew out of his head followed by a green glow. Multiple trees and vines shook around him, erupting from the ground to do his bidding.


    #####


    The spirit wolf ran with all his might, the smell of delicious fish almost making him go mad.


    By now, his mouth has saliva dripping from it, making him look like a large rabid dog.


    Finally, he arrived back at the river area where the fishes were, he saw a sight that made his heart sink to the bottom of its chambers.


    Most of the wolf warriors had already arrived and were feasting on the fish buffet with no decorum.


    Previously, Kael had used the rune stones to attack the piranhas. He was single-handedly responsible for eighty percent of all the dead fish that they were seeing.


    Most of these Piranhas had died in the river and would have been swept away by the current if not for N¡¯bay¨¦ using some runes to create a dam-like invisible barrier.


    So now, there was a large amount of fish piled up to one side of the river, as well as the multiple plies of fish by the riverside.


    It was like a party for beasts. The wolves jumped into the river, chasing after the piranhas and sinking their fangs into the tasty fish meat.


    The spirit wolf quickly ran to one pile that had more than five ordinary wolves surrounding it.


    As soon as he came, he barked at them, wanting to chase them away. They backed away obediently, respecting the bigger wolf.


    The spirit wolf munched on the fish, savoring the taste like it was the last time he would taste something like this again.


    All around him, the wolves were feasting on the fish, briefly forgetting the state of affairs of the forest. But Ruda was still here to remind them.


    As the spirit wolf chewed on a fish¡¯s spine, he saw a large purple paw appear beside his head. His fur immediately stood on end as he felt a tingling feeling all over his body.


    His eyes faced up to see Ruda looking at him. He immediately shot up and made some distance, looking at her warily.


    If Ruda wanted the fish, he wouldn¡¯t fight her at all for it.


    Ruda scoffed at his reaction, if she wanted to catch him, there was no way for him to escape. It¡¯s not like he was an awakened cheetah¡­

 Chapter 85: Duller

    "I want to give the wolves a message from the King," Ruda said.


    The spirit wolf instantly understood what Ruda wanted. She just wanted to use him as a medium to talk to all the wolves that were present.


    He nodded, and then a grey light spread from his body.


    Ruda felt the telepathic connection she was having with the wolves and began to speak.


    "Wolves!" She called for their attention. All the wolves including Commander Bibi looked up to see where the telepathic voice came from.


    "The feast before you is not a gift from the wild, nor is it the spoils of your own hunt. It is a provision from him, the King. The same king who proved his strength by defeating your leader.


    The king wishes to remind you all that you are no longer just a mere pack, you are soldiers in the making, warriors under the banner of a king who rewards loyalty and punishes defiance. This food is proof of his power, his foresight, and his will to see you thrive under him.


    Eat, regain your strength, and remember who provides for you."


    After saying that, Ruda decided to walk away from the area, her job already done. She had already eaten her fair share of fish and had lost interest in them.


    The wolves, after hearing the message looked around at each other, communicating basically with their eyes and growls.


    They returned to eat, except now, they weren¡¯t acting like ravenous beasts and had become calmer. The fact that this fish feast was provided by Kael contributed to this change of behavior.


    Bibi IV looked at this with a calm gaze, the more the wolf warriors warmed up to the higher authority, the more things would be better for him.


    "You, what¡¯s your name?" Ruda suddenly asked the spirit wolf.


    The spirit wolf shook a little, why was this purple lioness asking for his name?


    "Me?" The spirit wolf asked to confirm.


    "Yes you, you have proven to be very useful. I want to know your name so that I can relay it back to the King." Ruda explained. It was rare for Ruda to show an attitude of calmness which she was showing now.


    "Oh, my name is Duller," The spirit wolf said. He and the other wolves that had entered tier 2 all had names, nobody really asked since they weren¡¯t the impossible guys.


    For the first time, the spirit wolf felt appreciated and the way he looked at Ruda changed. His eyes showed hints of care and admiration, maybe too much¡­


    Ruda had walked away, followed by Duller¡¯s creepy gaze that remained plastered to her back until she left his sight. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Duller turned around to see Bibi IV giving him a very intense warning gaze. Duller nearly jumped from fright, seeing Bibi IV standing next to him.


    "Why are you looking at her like that?" Commander Bibi asked with his eyes narrowed.


    Duller shook his head while giving a goofy smile, "Nothing Commander Bibi, I was just making sure she left safely."


    Bibi IV scoffed, "If anything happens to her, what makes you think you can protect her?


    You better be careful."


    "Yes sir!" Duller replied, not wanting to talk about his situation which seemed a bit uncomfortable for him.


    "And wipe that stupid grin from your face, you look extra ugly right now." Commander Bibi said before walking away to continue feasting on the fish.


    Only now did the spirit wolf feel his face and realize that he was wearing a stupid smile. He quickly wiped the smile away.


    When he bent down to eat again, his eyes would occasionally look in the direction Ruda had left. His eyes showed that some strange abominable feeling was growing inside him all of a sudden.


    Meanwhile, Ruda walked in the forest, following the scent the spirit wolf had left when passing through.


    She eventually caught sight of Kael¡¯s golden form and ran towards him.


    Upon reaching his side, she noticed six cocoons made of vine. The cocoons lay on the earthly ground without any set order.


    One sniff and she could tell who was inside these cocoons, the water lions.


    Whatever had happened to make them fall to such a state? Looking around, she couldn¡¯t see any sign of battle. It looked more like they had fallen to Kael¡¯s power without putting up a fight.


    The purple lioness looked to Kael who was in the middle of transforming into his human form.


    His mane shrank and converted into golden blonde hair and beard. His snouth snapped and reshaped into a fine arrow-shaped nose. His sharp teeth shrank and his bones rearranged themselves but they still retained their original metallic gold color.


    "Well done," Kael nodded at Ruda and complimented her calmly.


    Anyone who stayed with the Ol-mytee pride for a few days would notice that Kael had a way of interacting with each lioness that was different from the other.


    Kael always seemed to match their vibes well and talked in a manner that they found most comfortable.


    He talked like an intellectual when with N¡¯bay¨¦, he was more expressive with Priya, he showed impulsiveness when in front of Diane¡­ and so on.


    Kael was getting smarter by the day mostly due to having to experience everything without anyone showing him the way.


    He had naturally learned that each lioness responded differently to certain behaviors and he had slowly been adapting to each of them such that he could easily switch from one false personality to the other.


    Kael was basically learning psychological manipulation from scratch. Forced by circumstances of the wild, he had no choice but to subconsciously adapt to improve any chance he had of surging longer.


    Usually, if he was talking with Ruda alone, there would be calmness, not the normal kind.


    Kael would talk as f he was being forced to be calm but he would explode with craziness the next chance he got. He would put on the vibe of restrained excitement anytime he was with this purple lioness.


    This always caused Ruda, whose extreme excitement was very much genuine, to mirror Kael¡¯s behavior.


    Without knowing it, Ruda would subconsciously make an effort to restrain her crazy side, waiting for Kael to explode before she did.


    As she saw the excitement in Kael¡¯s eyes that betrayed the calm expression on his face, Ruda became anxious.


    She calmed down yet her excitement rose, it was as if she would destroy anything the moment she could to vent her inner chaos.


    "Thank you," Ruda responded, forever oblivious to the discreet level of control she was now under.


    The two horns that were still on Kael¡¯s human head glowed green. Some of the vines that formed the cocoons stretched out and waved themselves before landing in Kael¡¯s right hand.


    He turned and placed the vine rope over his shoulder while firmly gripping it with his hand.


    Kael used these weaved vines to drag the six cocoons, "Let¡¯s go," he said to Ruda as he walked. The cocoons left six deep furrows in the ground as they were dragged. The trees subtly tilted out of the way, as if they had no intention of making this task harder for Kael.


    Ruda silently followed with her eyes darting everywhere for potential threats.


    Then she remembered something, "King Kael, that wolf, the spirit wolf¡­" She began.


    "Is it about his thoughts concerning me? I already know about it, don¡¯t worry." Kael said.


    "No, it¡¯s not that,"


    "Oh, what is it?"


    "He¡¯s quite valuable. The way he handled his task was very efficient. I was thinking that maybe¡­"


    "Remove such thoughts from your head." Kael cut Ruda off before she could complete her sentence.


    Ruda was surprised to see Kael shake his head at her suggestion. "Why?...if you don¡¯t mind."


    Kael paused for a while before sighing.


    He began to speak, "That spirit wolf is only appearing valuable because we haven¡¯t found a replacement for him.


    It looks like his spirit powers are very helpful but that¡¯s not the case, at the same time it is.


    We just don¡¯t have a good way to communicate with each other, especially over long distances.


    In the absence of professionals, a simple worker will look like an expert. That spirit wolf is not an expert, he is a worker who hasn¡¯t been confronted with the reality of his replacement.


    Even with his treacherous thoughts, I still have ways of making him useful. But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that he is treacherous.


    He is the type of person to only submit because he hasn¡¯t had a chance to rebel. He is the type of wolf to bite the hand that feeds him.


    You must be very careful with how you handle him. He is a wolf with the heart of a snake and the mind of a chameleon, falling for his current appearance will be a mistake that could cost you your life."


    Ruda went silent, digesting Kael¡¯s words. She wasn¡¯t the best when it came to intelligently observing people, so she could only depend on the evaluation of smarter people like Kael.


    "For now, that one who is called Duller has not outlived his usefulness. But believe me, his days are numbered."

 Chapter 86: Envy

    "Okay then, I just felt that we should appreciate him for his effort. But since he is not going to be around for long, I guess we can just ignore him." Ruda said.


    "No, we are going to show appreciation, this is to keep him complacent and unaware that we will replace him at the chance we get," Kael said, to which Ruda nodded.


    ¡¯I¡¯m becoming more like those corporate bosses I used to despise.¡¯ Kael thought.


    As he dragged the six vine cocoons, he looked at the blue sky, a look of detachment and realization coming over his face.


    There came times in a man¡¯s life when his flaws were placed bare for him to see. Unfortunately, this time usually came near the end of a man¡¯s life. Most times, these flaws cannot be resolved.


    There were times when Kael would remember some innocent but costly mistakes he made in his past life and he would feel like going down on his knees to cry.


    This desire to cry wasn¡¯t from sadness, it was pain, it was the pain he felt whenever he thought of his mistakes.


    The emotional pain needed to make a grown man cry was hard to imagine, talk less of a man who had difficulty expressing his emotions.


    Alas, most of the people who could relate to Kael¡¯s feelings were either old, dead, or suffering from extreme depression.


    Once in a while, he would imagine what would have happened if he hadn¡¯t been reincarnated and he would come to a brutal answer, nothing. Nothing would happen.


    His mistakes and death were detrimental to his way of life but in the grand scheme of things, it was insignificant.


    Before, in the past, he would hate his bosses.


    His bosses were in their own sense, mostly incompetent. If they weren¡¯t, then they were authoritative, or they were insensitive.


    There were so many things wrong with them yet the best way to avoid their radar was to just get their work done.


    Kael had never been on their bad side as he wasn¡¯t that kind of employee. As he was unambitious, quiet, and reserved, he never really got on anyone¡¯s bad side at work.


    Yet, he had despised his bosses. He thought he hated them because of the way they acted, only now did he understand himself better.


    He despised them because of the sense of powerlessness they made him feel. He and everyone that was there always felt incompetent and not up to the bar.


    The bosses outclassed most people in terms of finance, physique, and sexual achievements.


    To the Kael of that time, their ideals and morals were somewhat unacceptable. The lack of emotion and indifference they expressed made him consider them the opposite of good.


    But today, after this small talk with Ruda, he realized why he truly despised them.


    It was nothing but envy.


    Not many people can accept that they feel envious of something because of their ego, Kael was not one of those people until now.


    He envied the bosses because he wished to have what they had deep down. He wished to have their confidence, their backing, their money, their status.


    He wished he could do the things they did but even he didn¡¯t know what he truly wanted back then.


    So what if they bossed people around, so what if they acted like gods, so what if they spent a lot of money on luxuries, so what if they could explore degenerate fantasies that he could only imagine?


    It didn¡¯t change the fact that he had been jealous.


    But society didn¡¯t encourage people to express their jealousy and envy, so people adapted to demonizing everyone better than them. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When celebrities get sudden fame, there would always be a set of people out there ready to claim the said celebrities sold their souls to some demon or cult.


    When a businessman becomes a billionaire, some people would complain that such an amount of money is too much for one person and shout for wealth redistribution


    It was the same for models, the same for athletes, same for top students.


    Most of society was unwilling to accept that they envied what these people had and would look for a way to demonize these people.


    They usually went by a popular term, ¡¯Haters.¡¯ But this envy was what usually kept people on the right track to success as it could serve as a strong push to achieve many goals.


    For Kael, this envy had been a message, a sign for him to sit up and get his life straight. Envy could also serve as a natural motivation to work harder to get the lifestyle others had.


    Unfortunately, Kael paid no heed to these signs. He merely dwelt on his feelings of envy like most people would.


    He had video games, he had comic books, he had enough food, and he had a good television with interesting channels and subscriptions. He had everything needed to live a complacent life, and he remained complacent until he died.


    ¡¯Maybe, just maybe, if others on earth heard my story, they won¡¯t make the same mistakes I made¡­¡¯


    A strange thought found itself in Kael¡¯s head all of a sudden. Then he shook his head to get rid of the thought.


    If people on Earth learned from his life before his death, he didn¡¯t see how that would affect him in this world. Better to focus on himself now rather than such thankless imaginations.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t need to envy any boss, because today, I am my own boss. I can treat the spirit wolf just the way those bosses treat their employees, and I can be better than them.¡¯


    Kael refocused on the task at hand, getting these water lions to the den.


    Ruda who was looking at Kael¡¯s back noticed how Kael seemed to straighten his back subtly. There was a new air of confidence and even his chin was raised slightly.


    The duo eventually reached N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s den where Diane, Zabita, and Priya were resting.


    Currently, Priya stays upright with her eyes closed. There was a grey light around her body and her fur ruffled slightly in the wind.


    Kael could feel the mental pressure just by looking at her, not that he was affected in any way.


    Priya was meditating and Kael was aware of what she was trying to do. She was attempting to evolve into a tier 3 lioness on her own.


    Since there were no available tier 3 hearts for now, Priya was doing the next best thing.


    However, this needed a lot of luck and hard work. There was a nine out of ten chance that she would fail and Kael had already prepared his mind.


    He just didn¡¯t know how to comfort Priya if she was to fail.


    Kael walked to the side and placed the cocoons next to each other, under the watchful gazes of the lionesses.


    At this time, N¡¯bay¨¦ also walked over in her lioness form to see the six cocoons herself. She too was interested in these water lions that she had never seen before.


    "Where did they come from?" She asked about loud to no one in particular.


    "That¡¯s what we are going to find out," Kael said as his golden claws elongated out of his fingers.


    He waved his claws, causing a golden glint to reflect off them. The claws easily tore the vines of the biggest cocoon.


    The cocoons opened up to reveal Burdo¡¯s unconscious form curled inside.


    Kael waved his hand, causing the vines of the five other cocoons to loosen up and release the five water lionesses inside.


    ¡¯¡¯I could have just done that,¡¯


    Kael observed Burdo up close, taking note of how similar yet very different he was to other lions.


    Burdo reminded him of Silax, the fifth Primordial Lion who lived among the Air Lions.


    Just like the water lions, the air lions also didn¡¯t have fur like regular lions. Instead, they had feathers mixed with a little bit of fur.


    The water lions had scales instead of fur which was understandable. The Heart type would usually alter the creature down to the genes, it was normal for them to change drastically in appearance.


    Kael guessed that the scales were for underwater living. He was quite intrigued by how the gills on their necks worked because they still had a regular lion nose for air breathing.


    The runes on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s body glowed and a red magic circle filled with runes appeared beneath the unconscious water lions, trapping them within its circumference.


    A grey light softly flew out of Kael¡¯s eyes to rest in the bodies of the water lions.


    Groaning, Burdo flipped his eyelids, revealing his black and green eyes, like an amphibian¡¯s.


    He slowly got up from the ground, his limbs shook as he tried to reconnect with them.


    He looked around to see his lionesses also groggily waking up. He saw the glowing red circle beneath him, although he had no idea what it was.


    In front of him was a tall two-legged creature that he had never seen before. There was something about this two-legged creature that seemed familiar, something about his aura¡­


    There were also four lionesses surrounding them. One of them was the purple lioness that he had seen before when they were trying to escape from those piranhas.


    The others looked familiar but the one that surprised him the most was the large lioness with strange tattoos on her body. This lioness was even larger than him, she looked down with an indifferent gaze, merely showing slight interest.


    Now that Burdo looked closer, he realized that he knew three of these lionesses.


    ¡¯Isn¡¯t this my sister?¡¯ He thought, not knowing that Ruda had a name.


    ¡¯And that¡¯s that muscle-head, isn¡¯t this uncle¡¯s child?¡¯ He wondered, referring to Zabita.


    The way these lionesses looked at him was not friendly, there was also no animosity, just a mix of interest and indifference.


    "Tell us something, Burdo." Kael said, allowing Burdo to instantly identify who his humanoid was, "Where are you coming from?"

 Chapter 87: Break Or Bend!

    Burdo stared at Kael once more, acknowledging that this was indeed his brother.


    "What do you mean?" He responded and then sat down.


    "You left Father¡¯s pride about a year or more ago. I want to know what has happened to you since then." Kael said as straightforwardly as possible.


    Burdo frowned, not able to take Kael¡¯s tone to him calmly. "You haven¡¯t seen me for so long and the first thing you ask is this?" He asked.


    "Answer my question, Burdo." Kael¡¯s voice was firm and his eyes were steady. He didn¡¯t seem to be interested in repeating himself too.


    "Watch your tone, who is this Burdo you speak of?" Burdo frowned harder. He could feel Kael¡¯s aura but his ego did not make him bend.


    "Burdo is the name I gave you, I go by the name Kael. Once again, tell me about your last year." Kael responded calmly, but Ruda could sense that feeling again when she glanced at him. She could feel that this was just the calm before the storm.


    Both of them were sons of a lion who had extreme pride. They also inherited that unwillingness to bow that any lion who had tasted power would have.


    "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?" Burdo stood up and walked to the edge of the red circle.


    He seemed to be forgetting that Kael had previously made him unconscious before he could fight back.


    Kael looked down into Burdo¡¯s eyes, his face was calm but there were traces of purple electricity flashing through his eyes.


    The tension between the two brothers reached its peak within a few seconds after Burdo woke up. The water lionesses were uncomfortable as they stood behind Burdo.


    Their pride leader did not give them any confidence that they could take on these lionesses standing with Kael.


    "Do you see anyone else with such authority?" Kael asked.


    "Where is Mother?" Burdo replied with another question again, something that Kael found to be very annoying.


    "I¡¯m the one asking the questions here¡­"


    "Get lost!" Burdo shouted, causing silence to reign.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at Burdo like she was looking at the greatest idiot of her life. When ego was bigger than common sense, it created idiots.


    Kael knew Burdo had a large ego, he just didn¡¯t know it had grown bigger than before.


    Kael¡¯s suppressed aura was released as he took a step into the red circle. Burdo¡¯s instinct screamed at him to get out of the way, making him involuntarily take a step back. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Back then, you became greedy for the things your father had," Kael said as he closed in on Burdo who kept on taking a step back.


    Burdo growled, he didn¡¯t like the feeling of backing away from another lion, the last time he had done that was when his father chased him out of the pride he grew up in.


    "Because of that, Father had to deal with you with brute force, just like he did with me. The only difference is that I left willingly while you were banished.


    Either way, you desired things you didn¡¯t have the power to have. If Father wasn¡¯t stronger than you, who knows what would have happened to him?


    And for a long time, I hoped I wouldn¡¯t encounter you. After all, if you could desire what belonged to your father, what is stopping you from stealing from your brother."


    Kael continued walking until he cornered Burdo at the edge of the red circle. Burdo discovered that he could no longer back away as he felt his hind hit a barrier.


    He looked back to see nothing, the red circle glowed to show the power it had.


    Kael¡¯s aura kept rising and his body seemed to swell.


    "Now, I see what I must do.


    I will beat you up until you die by my hands. The only way to stop this misfortune I will now deliver to you is to surrender.


    For that is the only way to handle people like you."


    After Kael said that, he waved his hand to send a sign to N¡¯bay¨¦.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ nodded before the runes on her body glowed again. The water lionesses found themselves pulled out of the red circle.


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s large paws descended on their heads before they could react. They became dizzy and disoriented as runes appeared on their foreheads.


    Burdo, seeing, rushed after N¡¯bay¨¦, not to attack her but to look for a way to escape. The runes on the ground matched the runes on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s body, so he assumed she was the one responsible for his entrapment.


    However, before he could luckily make use of the barrier breach that N¡¯bay¨¦ used, he felt a strong grip on his scaled tail.


    He fell to the ground, losing balance from the sudden pull. Looking back, he saw Kael¡¯s strong hands holding onto the end of his tail.


    Kael¡¯s nose flared and his eyes stared into Burdo¡¯s with aggressive intent.


    "IMPUDENT!


    TODAY, I WILL SEE IF YOU WOULD RATHER BREAK THAN BEND!"


    With that said, Kael pulled the tail back, pulling Burdo with it, and flung him to the back.


    Burdo was powerless against the strength of a war lion in human form. His body slammed into the invisible barrier hard, and a visible crack appeared and spread out.


    Burdo slid down to the ground, gritting his teeth from the pain. He looked up to see Kael calmly looking down at him.


    "Expand and Strengthen!" Kael commanded N¡¯bay¨¦ to which she obliged.


    The red circle expanded to four times its size, forming a small arena space. The barrier went from invisible to a transparent red, visibly getting thicker.


    Burdo was starting to realize just how bad his situation was. The weight of his impending doom settled in his mind like a heavy mountain.


    He leaped at Kael, his claws bared and his fangs exposed, intending to rip Kael to shreds.


    Kael moved fast, closing in on the water lion while he was mid-air, throwing Burdo¡¯s calculation away.


    Kael turned his body, easily avoiding the claws. His arm shot up and grabbed Burdo by the neck.


    Burdo felt his scales break away under the powerful grip around his neck. Before he could think of a way to escape, Kael took action again.


    *BAM!*


    Burdo was slammed into the ground back-first, causing cracks to form and spread across the ground.


    For a few seconds, he lost his breath, gasping for air like a fish out of water. His back that slammed into the ground ached and he felt his spine trembling.


    "It¡¯s been fifteen seconds and you haven¡¯t even landed a scratch. Yet I still sense your indomitable pride."


    Kael talked calmly, but his actions were far from calm. He reeled his leg back, then sent it forth at a terrifying speed.


    The kick hit Burdo directly on his abdomen, sending him far until he crashed his sides into the red barrier.


    "Perhaps, in another timeline, you would be the one to take my place."


    Kael walked forward, his long golden tail swishing left and right.


    N¡¯bay¨¦, Diane, Zabita, and Ruda looked at all this with a sadistic smile on their face.


    Ruda knew that Burdo was her brother, but the memory she had of him was not so great. Burdo hadn¡¯t been the best of brothers.


    Compared to Kael who was a bit more sensitive and not too self-centered, Burdo was just selfish and lacked comprehension of other¡¯s feelings.


    She remembered how Burdo would try to take their food by force. If not that they had followed Kael in staying away from Burdo, she and the rest would have been traumatized.


    She looked at the water lionesses who still couldn¡¯t come back to their senses. She wondered what these five lionesses even saw in her brother that they were willing to follow him from wherever he got them from.


    Burdo quickly got up from the ground, seeing that Kael was coming with killing intent.


    "Why must you bully the weak?!" Burdo shouted as he ran to the side, intending to create as much distance between him and Kael.


    "How hypocritical."Kael almost laughed at those words. To Kael, this wasn¡¯t bullying, this was just a simple execution of the surrender-or-die tactic.


    There was no brotherly warmth in Kael¡¯s eyes. All he recognized was a blood relative that could be a pain in the ass if he didn¡¯t handle it soon.


    Kael still had intentions for Burdo. If he killed Burdo, who knew when next he would get to see another water lion? He first had to find out where Burdo was coming from before he got here.


    Not to mention he still needed to establish a clan. And for the perfect structure he had in mind, he would need a Water Lion pride.


    But if Burdo was still adamant, he wouldn¡¯t mind killing him. He could always take one of the water lions as his consort if it ever came down to that.


    From the looks of Burdo, it seemed Kael might just have to resort to the other option.


    "Look at you, a water lion, but you haven¡¯t even used any unique abilities to fight me. I know you just advanced to tier 2 not long ago, Burdo.


    Tell me where you are coming from, and I will take that as your surrender." Kael said, knowing that this was the last time he would have the patience to ask so nicely.


    Burdo lowered his body to the ground, preparing himself for a fight. He knew he might die but his pride would not let him think of the idea of backing out.


    "No," he responded before running after Kael again.


    Kael sighed, then disappeared.

 Chapter 88: Burdo’s Envy

    The logical side of Burdo told him that the best way to get out of this situation was to surrender. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It told him that there was no harm in telling Kael where he got his powers from and where he had been these last few months.


    Yet his ego was stronger, having a former hold on his decision-making.


    Even as ran around attempting to look for where Kael had disappeared to, his greed and envy were already activated.


    The way Burdo¡¯s mind worked was to always create comparisons between himself and other lions better than him.


    When he realized that they possessed something that he didn¡¯t have, his envy would be activated in full swing.


    He was just like how Kael had been with his corporate bosses. Except Burdo would act on his envy in whatever way possible.


    He didn¡¯t like when someone had more food than him, more lionesses than him, and especially more power than him.


    It made him feel lost and invalid.


    Kael was beaten by him, yes, he could tell how strong Kael was as he was given a backhand slap that sent him flying.


    But this just increased his envy for Kael. He envied Kael for having such power, he envied the command he had over such beautiful lionesses.


    He wanted it all.


    Unfortunately, pride and intelligence often did not correlate, if not Burdo would have submitted, biding his time while scheming to take what Kael had.


    His pride told him that the only way to take what others had was by force, as that was how things were done in the wild.


    His pride also warned him of the permanent damage that could potentially affect him if he actually submitted.


    It was a dreadful feeling as if he already knew what would happen to his psyche if he submitted. He was willing to accept the possibility of death, just to save his dignity.


    Kael jumped into the air, high and mighty. Then he dropped down with his feet aimed down toward Burdo who was just getting up.


    *BAM!*


    Perhaps, Kael had internally given Burdo time to escape as Burdo was able to jump out of the way.


    Burdo felt his eardrums rattle as the loud thunderous sound of the explosion blasted his ears.


    Dust was kicked into the air and a small crater formed. Kael might have delayed, but he had intended to split his brother into two bloody halves of that kick had landed.


    Burdo¡¯s sharp eye picked up movement within the dustiness, but the hit landed before his front paws could even move.


    A slap, carrying the power of electricity, landed squarely on Burdo¡¯s face. The water lion was sent flying until he slid to the ground.


    "Perhaps, I would be one of those who kill their brothers," Kael said, not bothering to hide his telepathic voice.


    His walk was filled with dominance and his eyes were cold. He didn¡¯t talk in any way that showed he found humor in what he said. Rather, he just seems to be considering it.


    Burdo stood up again, one side of his face was swollen and his legs were wobbly.


    His eyes still showed defiance as he watched Kael¡¯s approaching figure. Then Kael disappeared again¡­


    What followed was Burdo being tossed around the red makeshift arena. He was beaten from one corner to the other and the lionesses outside watched with dark indifference.


    Burdo¡¯s body bounced back from one red barrier to the other. Slaps, kicks, and punches landed on him and fractured his bones.


    A powerful knee appeared in front of his face and shot straight for his snout.


    Burdo¡¯s nose bridge broke on impact and collapsed on itself as Kael¡¯s knee dug into his nostrils. Blood splashed out as Burdo¡¯s teeth were broken and sent out of his mouth.


    Burdo¡¯s body rose into the air against his will, his eyes closed as he tried to process the pain.


    Kael reached out fast, grabbing Burdo¡¯s head from the top before smashing it into the ground.


    Burdo went in and out of conciseness, he didn¡¯t know what his body could take such a beating.


    Kael raised his head again, allowing Burdo a period to come to his senses only for Kael to swiftly slam his head again into the ground.


    Burdo¡¯s jaws cracked and his chest began to feel numb. He used his front paws to try to push himself up, trying to go against Kael¡¯s domineering strength.


    For a second, he actually rose as Kael let him, and then the hand over his head slammed him down again.


    "This, my dear brother, is what one has to suffer for power," Kael said before slamming Burdo¡¯s head into the ground again.


    A snapping sound was heard as one of Burdo¡¯s limbs could not adjust in time and got dislocated.


    "You want what my father and I had?" Kael slammed down again.


    "Do you have the ability to take it?" Kael slammed down again and again, his actions becoming more forceful.


    Blood pooled under Burdo¡¯s head and his jaw was dislocated. He had bitten his tongue and his mind was reeling from the pain.


    Cracks had spread on the ground and the red blood seeped into the cracks. The earth repeatedly received the brunt of Burdo¡¯s head slams and drank his blood.


    "Do you even dare?!" Kael raised his voice and then bashed Burdo¡¯s head into the ground so hard that the earth broke apart.


    "Wait!" Burdo spoke up weakly. As someone who always found a way to escape death, this was his first time seeing no way to escape.


    Kael really intended to kill him in the most brutally and painfully possible way, and the fear of such a kind of death was starting to set in.


    Burdo couldn¡¯t stand up, he couldn¡¯t even move his limbs. He wasn¡¯t tired but there was no strength in his body to do anything anymore.


    Kael¡¯s golden claws sprung out of his fingers as he placed his hand over Burdo¡¯s neck.


    "I guess I will have to take care of your lionesses for you. With them, I could always produce more water lions in the future.


    Goodbye, brother,"


    Kael¡¯s claws began to pierce into Burdo¡¯s neck, drawing blood and penetrating deep.


    "...Large corpse¡­" Burdo weakly said, a last effort to keep himself alive.


    Kael¡¯s claws stopped, "What?" He asked.


    "Seaside¡­Large corpse¡­" Burdo struggled to say, hopeful that his words would edge Kael into sparing him. He could already feel Kael¡¯s claws about to rip the top half of his neck off.


    Ruthless.


    Before Kael could get more information, Burdo fainted.


    "Hmm," Kael looked at his unconscious brother. He contemplated whether he should still kill him.


    "Let him wake up first. Let us learn what he has to say." N¡¯bay¨¦ spoke up, causing Kael¡¯s hand to stop moving.


    If she hadn¡¯t said anything right now, Kael would have killed Burdo. As a king, Kael wouldn¡¯t like to harbor anything that could threaten his reign.


    Kael silently stood up, before walking away. His hands and legs painted red with his brother¡¯s blood left a red trail as he moved away.


    "Clean it up," Kael said. Burdo was the ¡¯It¡¯ he was referring to, showing just how little he thought of Burdo as a living thing.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ waved her hand, removing the large red rune surrounding Burdo and Kael and removing the red barrier.


    The runes on the five water lions also disappeared as they came back to their senses.


    As soon as they saw Burdo¡¯s battered form in the distance, they instantly ran to meet him.


    "Lick him clean, I¡¯m watching you," N¡¯bay¨¦ commanded as she walked to them.


    They had originally wanted to lick Burdo¡¯s wounds, showing their affection. But now that N¡¯bay¨¦ commanded them to do it, they felt weird, like they were about to do something that was beneath them.


    However, with N¡¯bay¨¦ keeping watch, they still licked the wounds. Not to mention they genuinely cared about Burdo.


    Watching this, Ruda was increasingly confused at how these five water lionesses thought. How could they follow this brother of hers and even show such genuine affection?


    What exactly did Burdo experience with these lionesses that caused them to bond to such a level? What made them blind to Burdo¡¯s overbearing characteristics?


    As Kael walked away, thinking of how best he should handle Burdo when he woke up, he caught a glance of something moving behind the trees.


    His eyes locked on the slowly moving figure immediately and his nose flared, trying to sniff information out of the person.


    "Who are you?!" Kael directed a telepathic wave at the figure, causing the entity to tremble slightly.


    The entity knew that it had been found out and immediately tried to run away.


    Kael¡¯s calves bulged as heinged straight for the entity, chasing it into the forest.


    ¡¯So fast,¡¯ Kael thought as he ran after the creature. The thing was jumping from one tree to the other like a monkey and Kael thought he could see eight legs on the body of this creature.


    As he got closer to the creature, he saw that it was a spider. A green spider with eight spring-like legs and was the size of a normal wolf.


    It leaped from one tree trunk to the other, using its eight legs to touch grab, and jump off trees.


    The spider also seemed to be escaping in a certain manner, running away in a straight line which was unlike the predators they were.


    Kael immediately grew cautious after coming to this conclusion.

 Chapter 89: Natalia

    N¡¯bay¨¦ and the other lionesses looked back to Kael disappearing into the forest. He seemed to be chasing something.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦, what¡¯s that?" Diane said as her pupils narrowed and she tried to identify the entity that was moving in the distance.


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s two eyes began to glow as two tiny runes appeared in them. Her left eye had a deep red runic circle with intricate patterns. The right eye pupil was covered by a blue cross-like rune that replaced her pupils.


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s vision pierced through the trees, going past Kael to land on the entity that was running away.


    "Spider¡­" N¡¯bay¨¦ said as she frowned. She sank into thought for a moment, contemplating some things.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦!" Ruda shouted. N¡¯bay¨¦ had already lost herself in thought while Kael was getting farther away.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ snapped out of her thoughts as she came to an uncomfortable realization.


    "Watch them, I¡¯ll be back," N¡¯bay¨¦ said before running after Kael and the jumping spider.


    Kael slowed down, but he did not stop pursuing the green spider.


    This was the first time he saw a green jumping spider. His calm face mirrored his current mindset.


    His sharp and predatory golden eyes locked on the figure of the green spider. He flattened his palm and slashed out viciously.


    Space twisted as a sharp invisible blade shot after the green spider. The green spider had its spirit sense go haywire as it sensed something coming at it with unhidden killing intent.


    A white web shot out of its abdomen and stuck to the branch it was standing on. The green spider jumped down from the tree and swung away on its web.


    The spatial blade cut through the branch like a hot knife through butter, leaving a clean smooth cut.


    The green spider fell to the ground, forced to crawl at normal speed after not having any tree to jump from.


    Kael smiled at this, he had intentionally missed if not there was no way that spider could have possibly dodged the spatial blade.


    He wanted to remove whatever advantage the spider had. He could sense that the spider had the same energy that Nalii had, meaning his spider had some kind of power over vegetation.


    The green spider crawled fast, even though it was now on the ground, it was still very fast.


    It hopped off the ground, intending to climb onto one of the closest trees, only for a ball of fire to hit the tree and explode into tree barks and hot flames.


    The spider was forced to halt before continuing its escape. It tried to climb onto other trees but Kael would just destroy those trees before it could do anything.


    It could only continue running, trying to escape to a safe zone that had been agreed upon¡­


    Just then, N¡¯bay¨¦ came from behind in her lion form, running after Kael.


    "Kael, it might be a trap!" N¡¯bay¨¦ hurriedly warned. By this time they had already gone very far from N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s den and it would take some time for any wolf warriors to come to their aid if anything happened.


    "I know," Kael said as he continued following. N¡¯bay¨¦ became confused, Kael knew that this could be a trap, yet he was still chasing.


    She tried to understand what Kael was thinking and grew excited at the fact that Kael could be hatching a deep scheme.


    If she were in her human form, she would rub her hands together like an evil mastermind while smiling deviously. This was the type of thing that excited her.


    Soon, the spider slowed down and didn¡¯t even bother to try to jump on one tree or the other. It approached a clearing that had multiple rotten logs strewn around.


    Kael immediately stopped running with N¡¯bay¨¦. The latter transformed into her human form, both of them were vigilant as they observed the green spider.


    The green spider came to a very wide hole that was beside a large rotten log. The hole looked like the entrance to a spider burrow as it had white webs weaved across its entrance.


    The green spider hurriedly climbed down into the burrow, not like it was running away, but as if it had an urgent message to deliver.


    "I think I know what this is about," N¡¯bay¨¦ said, to which Kael simply nodded his head.


    "I¡¯ve been noticing some spiders spying on me in the past. I thought it was just a minor thing until I noticed how frequent it was.


    And with the ongoing conflict they had with the wolves, I guessed that there must be someone or something pulling the strings, or in this case, pulling the webs."


    Kael¡¯s humor seemed to go over N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s head as she didn¡¯t even register that Kael had just told a bad joke.


    Her eyes were focused on the burrow entrance with seriousness, "I don¡¯t have any magic inscribed item in this place.


    All the items I placed here have all been destroyed or moved away long ago by someone else." She said.


    "By who?" Kael asked.


    "By me!" A slutty female voice came out of the burrow in the form of a telepathic tsunami.


    Kael¡¯s eyes widened. This was the strongest level of spirit energy he had ever felt since he knew what spirit energy was.


    This spirit energy wave screamed of a dangerous level of intelligence and craftiness.


    Out of the burrow shot out a large figure. Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ followed the figure with their eyes.


    "Oh, it¡¯s not her." N¡¯bay¨¦ breathed a sigh of relief as she identified the spider that came out of the burrow.


    The spider landed on the ground with a deep thud that made Kael wonder just how much weight this creature possessed. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The creature that came out of the burrow was a large black spider, slightly larger than the green spider that they had chased.


    Its eight legs were long and pointy, stabbing into the ground easily. The spider¡¯s body had a metallic sheen to it that suggested the type of power it possessed.


    This spider had an aura of viciousness to it as it looked at N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael with a threatening gaze.


    Kael did not feel any threat from this spider though. What intrigued was the web screen being carried by the spider in its back.


    His web screen was like a weaved spider web but with only three corners. The web was held in place by three wooden sticks, stretching the web into fine lines.


    The webs of this web screen were not white, rather they were multicolored and constantly shifting from one color to the other.


    The web screen was placed at a ninety-degree angle, allowing Kael to clearly see the moving image that was on the web screen.


    The black metallic spider drew closer with its legs spread apart to show its tall form. It stood at a height of more than a meter. Obviously, that was not its true height, it was just trying to look bigger because it was absolutely terrified of the two humanoids standing in front of him.


    As the black spider crawled forward, Kael was able to see the image on the small television-sized web screen.


    "Natalia," N¡¯bay¨¦ stated as she recognized the humanoid being shown on the web screen.


    On the web screen was the moving image of a naked woman who had a beauty, unlike anything Kael had seen before. Her attractiveness lay in the faint savageness that even Kael could notice being emitted from her bones.


    Her eyes seemed to carry emotions but if one looked very carefully, there was nothing but cold calculations mixed with explosive savagery. Every emotion she showed on her face was a mask to hide her true monstrous nature.


    One look and he could tell this woman had climbed over a mountain of corpses to get to her level. This kind of person always seemed easygoing until you stepped on their toes, then will they show their true nature.


    "You know her?" Kael asked as he observed the naked woman. The six small dots on her cheeks let him have some guesses but he wasn¡¯t too sure.


    Despite her beauty and seductive body, Kael didn¡¯t feel aroused or attracted to her in any way. He only saw a potential threat and was thinking of what to do with this new character.


    "Yes, she¡¯s Natalia, the brood master of the Darktale Web Handlers. She¡¯s also the one who removed the magic items I put here." N¡¯bay¨¦ stated as she stared into the eyes of the woman on the web screen.


    "Oh N¡¯bay¨¦," Natalia spoke in her seductive voice, "You didn¡¯t let me spy on you, why should I let you spy on me?"


    N¡¯bay¨¦ simply scoffed. Two of the most intelligent females in the forest had a beef with each other, it wasn¡¯t so surprising when one thought of it¡­


    "You brought us here intentionally, what do you want?" Kael asked, not interested in their petty conflict. As soon as he saw the design of the web screen, his eyes shone with greed.


    "Oh, nothing much, just a business partner," Natalia said with a sly smile that wasn¡¯t really a smile.

 Chapter 90: Trade By Barter

    "Business?" Kael asked.


    "Yes, business. I think both of us could be very good business partners who would benefit a lot from our relationship." Natalia said from the web screen. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael thought for a moment before replying, "What type of business are you talking about,"


    He was seriously considering a relationship of some sort that meant having access to some benefits. From the appearance of the web screen, he could already tell that the spiders were not an ordinary race and would have a lot of advanced methods that could prove very useful to him.


    Before Natalia could answer, N¡¯bay¨¦ answered for her.


    "Natalia is into the business of trading information and intelligence networking. She and others like her connect two parties over a long distance.


    He and her colleagues have access to a large database that keeps on being expanded and refined. They call this database The Great Web.


    Their connection to the Great Web gives them an intelligence advantage that stretches across the entire forest.


    If you want to know anything, people like Natalia will give you information for a price. If you want to connect with someone over a distance that your telepathy cannot cover, she is the one to meet."


    Kael nodded, just as he guessed. "Why didn¡¯t you tell me about this in detail before?"


    N¡¯bay¨¦ had mentioned the spiders in a few conversations but had never bothered to expatiate on just how advanced they were.


    "That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t really ask, you were more interested in the Wolf clans at that time. I would have told you about them eventually though.


    However, I usually stay away from their business because the spiders have been known to be very untrusting and unreliable."


    "Aww, that hurts," Natalia said, placing her hand on her magnificent chest, causing it to jiggle.


    Kael blinked at this, making sure his eyes stayed on her face. Now wasn¡¯t the time to be distracted.


    Natalia continued, "Like I said, it¡¯s simply business. You¡¯re the one who thought we could be friends." She said with a smile.


    The expression on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s face got colder and more indifferent. It looked like she was looking at a piece of meat that would soon be cut up into multiple pieces.


    "Kael, Natalia, and her group have intentionally released false information because some paid them higher to do so.


    She is a good business partner until she sees better business elsewhere. I only knew about this after doing my investigations." N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    Natalia shook her head, "That was just a few times. Plus, I doubt if Kael here is the type to underpay anyone.


    I doubt if anyone would be able to pay a higher price than him, seeing his current status.


    "So that is why you refused to show up by yourself?" Kael asked. He knew that Natalia was trying to play to his ego while also testing his level of intelligence.


    He could feel a spirit power continuously trying to barge into his mind rudely. Fortunately, the spirit power was weak and could only read on fake surface thoughts.


    "Let us say that I consider doing business with you. What will be the foundation of our cooperation?" Kael inquired.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked at Kael, not knowing what he was thinking. At the same time, she was starting to see the extent of Kael¡¯s ambition.


    The fact that he was even considering doing business with Natalia despite all the bad things she said about her led her to glimpse a bit into the future that Kael was planning.


    She didn¡¯t know Kael all too well as his emotions and personality were not always worn openly, but she knew a bit.


    She knew that Kael¡¯s ambition could make him ignore consequences and care about nothing but results.


    She had noticed it in the way he talked about his plans. On one hand, she now began to feel pity for Natalia who didn¡¯t know the strange being she was about to make a deal with.


    "We mostly do trade by barter with our other clients. Whatever you have of value, food, information, or rare items can be used to trade for our services." Natalia said, taking a more professional tone.


    "I see, it seems I¡¯ll have to speed up my currency plans, I don¡¯t really see convenience trade by barter," Kael said offhandedly, seemingly in a casual way.


    Natalia¡¯s eyes shined when she heard this, "Did you say currency?" She asked.


    "Yes," Kael answered, interested in what had come into this brood master¡¯s mind.


    "You want to have a medium of exchange?" She asked again.


    "Yes," Kael answered again.


    "Well, the Great Web has Data on potential resources that could be used as a stable currency to facilitate exchange. I could get that for you as our first transaction." Natalia proposed.


    "I see, potential resources you say? Why aren¡¯t they used as currency already?" Kael asked.


    "That information will have to wait until our transaction is completed," Natalia said with a sweet smile on her beautiful face.


    "Okay then, what do you want for this information? If your price is beyond me then you can forget it," Kael warned as he folded his arms.


    "Oh, food will do. We know about your wolf army, King Kael. Procuring food will not be something of a difficulty for you."


    "Indeed, when will I get it?"


    "In a week, seven days. We will meet here to complete the exchange,"


    "Hmm, what do you want for it?"


    "Food equivalent to thirty deers in weight." Natalia started with a straight face.


    Both N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael frowned. Thirty deers was not much, but it also wasn¡¯t little.


    "And I must say, any effort to reduce the price will just affect the quality of the information we give you later on." Natalia hurriedly stated.


    "Fine then, the food equivalent to thirty deers. But you must add something as per our first transaction, a show of goodwill if I must say.


    If I¡¯m not mistaken, you and your group are not the only information brokers in the spider world." Kael ended his words with a mild threat.


    Natalia only smiled at the threat, "Of course Kael, I have the perfect information needed to show my gratitude.


    Since we have established a common ground, I shall get to work."


    After saying that, the web screen went dark, losing connection with what was transferring the images.


    The black metallic spider which was carrying the eb screen in its back shook slightly.


    Kael and N¡¯bay¨¦ watched the spider back away until it crawled into the burrow.


    "We¡¯ll have to tell the wolves to watch out for any spiders, just in case," N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    Kael sighed, the wolves and spiders had some bad history together.


    "Don¡¯t worry," Kael simply said, he already knew what N¡¯bay¨¦ was thinking of.


    As they walked back to the den, N¡¯bay¨¦ asked, "Do you wish to annex them?" By now, they were far away from that burrow and had entered their territory.


    Here, the interference from any of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s magic stones would prevent the spiders from easily observing them.


    "If possible," Kael said.


    "But you are already making plans for it right?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked.


    Kael looked at N¡¯bay¨¦. There was a glow of excitement in N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s eyes. It was as if the idea of scheming against a group of highly intelligent creatures turned her on.


    "Yes, but I can¡¯t approach their matter the same way I did for the Bibi clan.


    I don¡¯t know how strong this Natalia is and I don¡¯t know if she has any backers.


    Not to mention the spiders seem very connected to each other, isolating and defeating them in detail would not come without a price.


    Then there is the problem that they are very intelligent. Simply feeding them would not work like it did with the wolves.


    They are more likely to individually keep their resentment and work to sabotage me from within the kingdom.


    I admit that their social structure is very interesting, but that¡¯s what makes it very dangerous.


    I can¡¯t go after them with brute force even if I am sure of winning. I have to make them see that they have no better choice but to submit if they desire a better life.


    I have to make them come to me willingly."


    This was the first time that Kael was thinking in this direction since he reincarnated. For the first time, he had no intention of beating someone up just to make them submit.


    This was partly due to how Natalia approached him though.


    "She came to us on her own. She must see value in our growing force, if not she wouldn¡¯t have even shown her face to us." N¡¯bay¨¦ said.


    "Do you two have any history?" Kael asked.


    "Yes, but it¡¯s from my naive days.


    Let¡¯s get back to Burdo. We also have to learn magic together." N¡¯bay¨¦ said, dodging the question in the most clumsy way. This was to alert Kael that she didn¡¯t want to talk about it.


    Kael shrugged, there were other present matters to think about other than N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s past.

 Chapter 91: The Loneliness Of Intelligence

    Deep underground, in a cave where the walls, ceiling, and floor were covered with multicolored web.


    The multicolored webs were changing colors in a very orderly and controlled way, showing well-crafted images of different scenarios and scenes.


    The webbed cave had sections of space that showed a different image than the other. Some showed a green forest, some showed a vast savannah, and some had images of animals who were oblivious to the fact that they were being looked at.


    Standing in the center of tall this chaotic gathering of multiple images with her hands behind her back.


    She stood there, naked, her eyes were trained on one particular image.


    "...Since we have established a common ground, I shall get to work." The beautiful woman said with a seductive smile.


    Then the web screen she was looking at went off and the image of two tall humanoids on it went dark.


    As soon as the web screen went dark, the seductive smile on her face disappeared and was replaced with a foreign stoic expression.


    Her eyes narrowed dangerously and the six dots on her cheeks shrunk significantly.


    "I can¡¯t understand¡­" She finally said after standing there for a long time. She shifted her gaze to the other images.


    "He acted way too close to what I expected¡­" She talked to herself, her powerful telepathic voice bouncing off the webbed walls of the cave.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦ warned him, even pointed out past issues. Surely, he trusts N¡¯bay¨¦ more than he could ever trust me, we just met.


    Then why did he agree so easily? He did even put up much resistance, it was as if¡­he was anticipating it."


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s eyes narrowed into fine slits, her mind churned as she tried to rationalize and analyze everything that had just happened during the conversation.


    "...He assumed the position of authority immediately. I didn¡¯t even notice it because I was busy trying to read into his words.


    I even said the price first, I should have made him give his best price first. This will affect our next meeting,"


    Natalia sighed. She had hoped to read into Kael and understand a bit about the type of person he was. However, she didn¡¯t get anything other than that Kael was very ambitious, which everyone who knew him knew of.


    Knowing that Kael was very ambitious was not enough, she wanted to know just what type of ambitious person he was. What were his goals? His plans? His weakness?


    To find those things out, she would have to get closer to Kael, she knew it. But that was easier said than done.


    She preferred to stay far away and pull the strings from the shadows.


    "Currency? Is he trying to build a nation like the ancient Sage Elephants?" She wondered.


    She shook her head, for now, she wanted to focus on the task first before thinking of any other thing.


    Her spirit energy turned into invisible strings that attached themselves to the webbed walls. She sat cross-legged on the ground, allowing multiple web strings to rise and coil around her body.


    Her mind connected to The Great Web and her subordinate spiders.


    "Congratulations to us, we successfully made a deal with Kael of the lion race.


    Gather all information on valuable or rare but naturally occurring materials. The type that has been used a lot in the past as a medium of exchange.


    You all have five days to submit this assignment."


    After giving that order, Natalia cut off her connection to the spider websites. She and Kael had agreed on seven days, so she expected the work to be done in five days by her spiders.


    This was so that she could package the last information as a gift to Kael.


    "Who knows, I may be able to rise to great heights with this new patron.


    Most of the creatures in this forest are so short-sighted. They only see the things in front of them, they never bother to imagine what may be beyond.


    One day, this forest will no longer restrain us. Our webs shall spread to every corner of the world¡­"


    Although Natalia uncomfortably talked to herself, she seemed to find comfort in it.


    As if a conversation with herself made her forget the loneliness that came with high intelligence.


    ######


    "So their network spans across countless tunnel networks underground?" Kael asked as he and N¡¯bay¨¦ arrived at the den.


    "Yes, that¡¯s why it¡¯s so hard to control them or hurt them. They have a very tight control over information and beneath the ground lies many secrets.


    Kael softly held N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s hand, rubbing his fingers on the center of her palm in a very sensual way.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ knew what Kael wanted and her steps became hurried. She wanted to enter the cave so that they could start as soon as possible.


    The feeling of his lion rod inside her was a feeling she could never get used to.


    Priya was still meditating by the side. Zabita, Diane, and Ruda were surrounding the still-unconscious Burdo and his five water lionesses.


    Kael waved his hand, making vines shoot out of the earth and wrap around the ankles of the water lionesses and their leader.


    ¡¯I haven¡¯t surveyed any memories since that time,¡¯ Kael suddenly thought.


    The last time he went into the memory space, he came out more confused.


    Derylia, the seventh Primordial lioness, had had a forbidden relationship with a dragon. This relationship eventually led to the birth of an abomination.


    A creature born of a Primordial lioness and a dragon. One could only imagine the terror.


    Kael didn¡¯t know what happened to Derylia and her dragon lover, but he guessed that the consequences of their actions eventually arrived.


    But it seemed those who faced this consequence were Noel and the Lion race.


    Why didn¡¯t the dragons face this? What caused the war with the lions and the dragons in the first place?


    And what happened to Noel after he flew into that portal?


    Kael suppressed the curiosity inside him by deciding to sink himself into the memories again.


    For now, he and N¡¯bay¨¦ had something to do.


    Soon, after the duo entered the cave, there would be an occasional slight tremble that the lionesses would feel from the ground.


    At this time, Olivia came into the premises from her ¡¯stroll.¡¯


    From her mouth, the other lionesses could perceive the smell of fish, they instantly knew where she had been.


    Olivia walked over innocently, eyeing Burdo and the water lionesses before slumping her chubby body beside the meditating Priya.


    All through, Priya didn¡¯t react to any sound or telepathic waves. It was unclear whether she was ignoring it or just couldn¡¯t sense anything at this moment.


    Either way, she was left alone, her success was the pride¡¯s success too.


    #######


    Kael had just finished with N¡¯bay¨¦ and lay his head on her bountiful chest while they rested on the ground.


    One of his fingers found its way to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s crotch area as he slowly played with her clit.


    ¡¯Maybe I should get a makeshift bed, just for having sex¡­¡¯ With that final dirty thought, Kael plunged his consciousness into the Primordial memory space.


    He wanted to go for Noel, after all, Noel was the closest Primordial Lion to him. But another Primordial lion that he had never bothered to check caught his attention.


    The sixth Primordial Lion, Jin.


    This was a very massive lion. He was the biggest among the eight Primordial Lions. His muscles bulged and his body was full of scars.


    The most peculiar thing about him was that his left paw was missing.


    The aura that Jin was emitting was one of extreme violence. His face was calm but he looked like he would tear anyone to shreds at the slightest provocation.


    Not having any information on Jin, Kael decided to take a look at his memories. But Kael took some imaginary steps back soon after.


    Almost all of Jin¡¯s memories were violent, making Kael wonder what kind of life Jin lived.


    Kael decided to try something different, meditating on the violent aura and then quickly attaching himself to the least violent memory he could sense.


    That is, the memory Kael was about to experience was the least violent he could find.


    "DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!"


    ¡­was the first thing Kael heard as he found himself in a strange scene.


    He was watching from a third-person perspective as usual, following the body of a humanoid that was rushing down, jumping from one wall to another in between two cliffs.


    There was blood, a lot of it. Kael could smell it for the sake of experience, it got him strangely excited. The scent of this type of blood made his own blood boil.


    Kael was very familiar with this scent of blood, he recognized it because his own blood also smells like that.


    ¡¯Lion blood,¡¯ Kael thought.


    The humanoid he was following would only be described as an absolute monster. He stood at a height of nearly four meters, his muscles were bulging and his hair full of dirty golden hair stood on end.


    He had two gold sideburns that complimented his handsome yet savage visage.


    Where his left hand should be, a black metal arm with mechanical designs was attached. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And currently, this humanoid man was waving that metal arm frantically, brutally cutting through a swarm of lions like they were cabbages.

 Chapter 92: Weaklings

    The big humanoid man who was none other than Jin, the sixth Primordial lion, was committing an act of genocide against his own race.


    Surrounding him were lion men and women, either in their lion forms or their humanoid forms. Surely, each of them was at least at tier 2 or tier 3.


    They used their cat-like agility and powerful claws to quickly scale the walls, approaching Jin who was perched on a protruding rock on the cliffside.


    They were coming from above and below, but some of them were running away.


    Actually, most of them were running away, climbing to the top of the cliff before running for their lives.


    Jin saw all this with a calm savagery. His golden eyes scanned every lion coming at him with anticipation. When his eyes locked on the escaping lions above, he frowned.


    His thick calves pressed against the cliff side with bulging muscles. Like a spring that was released, he launched himself at the opposite opposite like a cannonball escaping its cannon.


    He seemed to have narrowly dodged a claw swipe from a large flaming lion, but it wasn¡¯t as thought.


    His explosive jump decimated the protruding rock he was standing on. It was like a bomb had gone off, sending rocks flying out at dangerous velocities.


    The flaming lion that had been close to him was instantly reduced to a meat back with multiple holes in it.


    At the same time, Jin¡¯s jump had shit him into the cliff side of the opposite cliff. His impact shook the earthen structure and large rocks fell to the ground to crush the brave lions below.


    Jin waved his metallic black claw arm, sending out a pressurized wind arc that was shaped like a curved sharp blade.


    Dozens of lions and lionesses were cut into two pieces, spilling blood down to the hundreds of meters deep trench.


    Every wave of Jin¡¯s massive arms broke the rocks around him. He used nothing but brute strength to slaughter any lion he could find. Jumping around from one cliff wall to the other, he wall like a middle, delivering catastrophic destruction upon impact.


    The sound of running water reached the sky and the sensitive ears of the lions present on this vertical battlefield.


    Looking down below, there was a long river that could be made out at the bottom of the trench. This river was already turning red from the large input of lion blood into it.


    Above the trench, far away from the two cliffs opposite to each other.


    Multiple lions were running away from the battlefield with absolute fear in their eyes.


    Among the horde that numbered hundreds of thousands, a lioness in her humanoid form was running as fast as her legs could take her.


    She looked back, dread coloring her silver eyes. The spirit energy that spread out from her was so unstable that the lions running beside her saw illusions multiple times and stumbled to the ground.


    She could feel the trembling from the ground. It was following a certain rhythm, like the song of a World Eater.


    She looked to her front, ahead in the distance were magic shuttles with well-placed runic designs. Although she could see the magic shuttles, she felt that it was still too far away.


    One of the lions burst out with flames all over his body. The energy reserved in his body began to drain at a rapid pace as his paws shot out blue jet flames.


    Like a flaming rocket, the lion sped towards the magic shuttles.


    The humanoid lioness wanted to transform into her father and agile lioness form but she was one of the multitude who were trapped in their humanoid forms.


    "I knew I shouldn¡¯t have come to this fucking planet, it was too good to be true." The spirit lioness cursed out loud as she ran with tears in her eyes.


    She and the other runners felt the ground shake harder. Cracks began to spread from behind and sounds of explosions reached their ears.


    From the center of the two cliffs, a massive explosion seemed to have occurred as multiple large rocks were shot into the air, along with the mangled bodies of many lions.


    Like a sandworm, something tunneled through the ground at incredible speed, creating small mounds on the ground surface in the process.


    The spirit lioness cried, she screamed in frustration at how close she was to her death. She just knew that she would perish at the hands of that bastard Primordial Lion.


    "I HAVEN¡¯T FINISHED MY PURGE, WHO ASKED YOU TO LEAVE?" Jin¡¯s calm and commanding voice resounded from the ground.


    *BOOM!*


    With indomitable might, Jin burst out of the ground with his arms outstretched. This act alone sent many lions flying to their deaths.


    Before the body of the humanoid lioness could fly away, Jin grabbed her ankle, bringing her back and holding her upside down.


    Her body was the size of a regular human, making her look very small compared to Jin¡¯s four-meter-tall figure.


    He raised her up so that she could look straight into his golden eyes even as she was upside down.


    "You weaklings disgust me. How can I, Jin, share the same blood with you lot." Jin¡¯s voice was thick with a unique accent.


    The accent reminded Kael of the Scottish people.


    "Please¡­*sniff*...I¡¯m sorry¡­" The humanoid lioness pleaded, even though she didn¡¯t know what she was apologizing for.


    Her spirit energy constantly barraged Jin but had no effect whatsoever.


    Jin shook his large head, "I¡¯m afraid I cannot afford to accept your apology.


    Your simple act of breathing is a waste and a shame to the true Conquerors of the Lion Race.


    The greatest sin you could ever commit as a lion is to be weak. And the wages of all sin is Death."


    Saying that, the black metallic claw left arm emitted a black glow at the mention of the word ¡¯Death.¡¯


    While holding one of her ankles with his right hand, Jin used his left metal hand to grab the other ankle.


    Then he spread his arms¡­


    "AAAAAAR¡­"


    The scream was cut short as the female humanoid was effortlessly ripped into two bloody parts.


    Faces, urine, blood, and intestines fell on Jin¡¯s broad and scarred chest. His golden eyes shifted, and he caught sight of a figure in the sky flapping his wings as he tried to fly to the magic shuttles.


    Jin¡¯s left arm blurred, and one half of the divided humanoid was thrown at the winged figure.


    A whistling sound was heard, followed by a bang. The winged figure burst into pieces of flesh and blood after he was hit with the humanoid half.


    He let the second half drop to the ground, not bothered by the blood stains.


    Jin looked forward, observing the distant magic shuttles. He signed, then took a step forward.


    *BOOM!*


    The ground trembled as a crater was formed. Jin shot forth like a bullet.


    His large form tore through the running horde like a hot knife through butter. He painted the ground red wherever he went, seemingly hellbent on spilling their blood in the most painful manner he could think of.


    Out of desperation, many lions and lionesses turned around, willing to fight Jin. They were, in the truest sense, wild animals with nowhere to run.


    Fortunately, someone had managed to reach one of the hundred-meter-long magic shuttles shaped like a disk and activated it.


    Without waiting for his comrades, the pilot controlled the magic shuttles to rise into the air. As it rose, the cannons aimed their mouths at Jin who moved fast in a zigzag pattern amid the horde, leaving a trail of blood behind him.


    Jin¡¯s senses picked up the rising magic shuttle. He looked at the cannons aimed at him and frowned.


    "It is my duty to make sure your type does not integrate with the rest of lion society.


    In the future, when cubs wonder why there are no weaklings among the lion race, their parents will tell them that JIN was responsible."


    Jin launched himself off the ground, shooting straight for the magic shuttle with craziness never seen before.


    He landed on the top of the magic shuttle, the pilot didn¡¯t even have the chance to shoot Jin with his cannons.


    Jin raised his metal arm to the sky and formed it into a fist. Light seemed to drain from the world as a feeling of dread filled the hearts of the lions below. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "May he have mercy on you," Jin muttered.


    Then he brought his fist down fast and hard.


    The magic shuttle immediately burst into flames and metal pieces. The defensive runes could not withstand the power of the metal fist at all.


    The unnatural shockwave from the collision of the fist with the body of the magic shuttle spread downward.


    Like clay dough on a wooden board, thousands of lions and lionesses were pressed down to the ground instantly, turning into a red carpet of bloody messiness.


    Kael, who followed Jin¡¯s falling body from his third-person perspective, saw that a massive crater had formed in the ground after that shockwave hit them.


    The shocking thing was that this insanely wide crater was shaped like a fist.

 Chapter 93: The Lion System

    Kael woke up, his mind filled with the gory images of those lions that Jin killed.


    ¡¯So that¡¯s who Jin was¡­¡¯ Kael thought, unable to keep a straight face.


    Jin had killed the people of his race simply because they were weak. Kael could literally feel the suffocating hate that Jin had for weaklings.


    And the lions Jin had been killing were all tier 2 and 3. Kael wasn¡¯t sure if Jin judged weakness based on tier level or based on something else.


    Either way, what would Jin say if he saw Kael?


    The more Kael looked through the memories of his predecessors, the more he realized how lucky he was.


    The eras of the previous eight Primordials were filled with so many elements that would be very unfavorable to Kael.


    Whether it was Alan being the only lion of his time and therefore having to sacrifice himself to create the first two normal lions.


    Or Bethel, being born at a time when the lion race had very low numbers which gave Bethel an excuse to seduce many lionesses away from their pride leaders.


    There was Silax who was born at a time when lions were constantly migrating from one planet to another in hopes of spreading out more.


    Derylia was born at a time when the lion race was so divided that she was able to consummate with a dragon right under their noses.


    Noel seemed to have it worse, he deserved every pity. Noel had to shoulder the consequences of a lot of mistakes of the previous Primordial Lions while still taking the whole lion race to conquer the heavens.


    And now, there was Jin¡¯s time when Kael didn¡¯t even want to know what had happened. Most times, the hate for the weak develops after experiencing a sickening level of debauchery and softness in members of one¡¯s society.


    Any number of societal disorders could have given Jin a valid excuse to purge his own race.


    Then there was the first Primordial who was a lioness, and the third Primordial lioness.


    Kael had not yet checked her memories but he imagined that her era won¡¯t be much favorable.


    And the fourth Primordial Lion who died before he could get a name for himself.


    Life has always been tough, but compared to theirs, Kael¡¯s time was relatively easier.


    There was almost no pressure from any corner. There was a sufficient population of the lion race, he wasn¡¯t on a chaotic world.


    The only thing he needed to do was get stronger and conquer all.


    However, the lack of pressure presented a depressing truth to Kael that didn¡¯t make him feel the desire to appreciate his luck.


    The lion race had fallen, Noel had failed, and his sacrifice had been for nothing.


    A race where each member saw themselves as royalty, a race that dared to challenge the hosts of the three thousand heavens, a race that fought the world to build a nation of kings.


    A race that could command the world with their roars.


    The only evidence that they had done such things was the memories the Highest Will had given Kael.


    No lion in this savage world knew how magnificent their heritage was.


    ¡¯Can I succeed where Noel failed?¡¯ Kael thought, feeling lost for a moment.


    He shook his head to remove that doubt from his mind as quickly as possible. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ¡¯Yes,¡¯ He affirmed, ¡¯They didn¡¯t have what I have. They didn¡¯t have the experience of eight different lives.¡¯


    Saying that, a look of ruthlessness appeared on Kael¡¯s face. The Primordial record screen appeared in front of him.


    This wasn¡¯t the Primordial Record that he used for the animals of the forest, this was the Primordial Record that he had kept aside exclusively for the lions.


    He had been able to fill the quest vault of the Primordial record in the past week. Thanks to the wolves, there was a lot of meat that could be exchanged for points now.


    A lot of lions who had their identity marks on the Primordial Record had already exchanged the points they had gotten from the only quests for meat.


    The number of lions who had their identity marks on the Primordial Record had increased to more than fifty.


    With incentives, the lions had made sure to ¡¯persuade¡¯ any other lion they encountered to add their identity marks to the Primordial Record.


    It had only been slightly more than a week since he modified the quests. The number of identity marks was expected to increase exponentially in the coming days.


    ¡¯This is what makes me different from other lions, I might as well make full use of it.¡¯


    With that thought, Kael immediately put a label on this Primordial Record.


    ¡¯The Lion System¡­¡¯ Kael decided to give it a simple name, a reference to one of the novels he had read in his past life.


    The Primordial Record, upon feeling the unique identity that was being placed on it, reacted strangely.


    It acted like a computer that was receiving a massive update. It crashed, multiple golden screens appearing and glitching around Kael¡¯s body.


    At the same time, information rushed through Kael¡¯s brain, the secrets of the Primordial law being exposed bit by bit to his naive mind.


    Even with all this, Kael didn¡¯t forget the main reason why he had given a name to the Lion¡¯s exclusive Primordial Record.


    His mind churned as he added another task to the Lion System.


    [Follow the river, against the current. Lead your pride to the forest.


    Reward: 100 points.]


    And with that, Kael had set up a contingency plan no one would have ever been able to anticipate.


    At the same time, Kael closes his eyes, feeling how he and the Primordial Record were becoming one and the same.


    #######


    A week passed by in a flash. The end of this week marked the end of half of the one-month rest period before Kael focused on the mountain again.


    This meant that it had been a week since Burdo had ¡¯reunited¡¯ with his brother, Kael.


    Today was also the day that Kael was supposed to collect his package from Natalia, the brood master of the Darktale Web Handlers.


    Today, Kael was present at the site where Kael had first met Natalia, in his humanoid form as usual. He stood a few meters away from the burrow and his golden eyes were focused on the ground as he sank himself in thought.


    He wasn¡¯t here alone, unlike last time. Commander Bibi stood beside him with twenty ordinary wolves and one fire wolf.


    The wolves were a bit anxious, aware of the entities they were supposed to meet here.


    Ruda, the purple lioness, and Zabita, the metal-clawed lioness were sitting down behind him.


    They both kept their senses on the thirty deer carcasses piled up on each other. This didn¡¯t stop them from shifting their gazes to Kael¡¯s figure once in a while.


    Kael seemed to be deep in thought, indeed he was. He had been like this for days, ever since Burdo had confessed his whereabouts.


    Who could blame him, anyone who heard Burdo¡¯s story would also be like that.


    At this time, the ground shook as a dog-sized spider crawled out of the burrow entrance.


    One spider, two spider, four spider¡­ Multiple spiders the size of a dog rushed out of the burrow entrance and stood in an orderly line in front of Kael¡¯s group.


    There were twenty-five spiders present, most of them having a black metallic body. The rest either had red or green bodies.


    All of them were exuding spirit energy, confirming one of Kael¡¯s guesses. These spiders had dual powers despite having one spider heart.


    But Kael ignored them for now, he focused on the tsunami-like spirit energy that was rolling forth from the burrow.


    He could feel the spirit energy rise at frightening speeds, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before.


    Unlike most spirit-powered creatures who were quite emotional, this spirit signature showed that the owner was emotionally absent, like a machine.


    But Kael knew that wasn¡¯t the case, every spirit-powered creature had emotions, and some were just good at suppressing it, like Natalia.


    The spirit wave reached its peak, causing the ordinary wolves to feel pressure on their minds. They all felt a headache coming on and this wasn¡¯t even intentional from the other party.


    Finally, the owner of the great spirit signature showed herself.


    She climbed out of her burrow with her spider legs like an evil goddess, her aura pressing forward to show her might.


    Kael saw her clearly, her naked upper body that was endowed with a wonderful set of breasts and the black metallic lower body of a spider.


    The six dots on her cheeks expanded as she laid her eyes on Kael who stared back. Her eyes met his golden ones, trying to read into each other¡¯s intentions.


    Kael was the first to speak, "Natalia, I didn¡¯t think you would come in person." He said.


    Natalia chuckled, clearly reading the provocation hidden in Kael¡¯s words. "I had to come to show my sincerity to do business. I hope you don¡¯t feel intimidated?" She smiled and asked.


    "Hehe, I am very much intimidated," Kael said sarcastically. Thankfully Natalia was smart enough to understand sarcasm.


    Meanwhile, the wolves and spiders were currently staring daggers at each other.

 Chapter 94: Spirit Signature

    Most of the wolves could still remember that fateful day, that day when the spiders attacked almost every creature in the forest at the same time.


    It was not a day that made them feel good when they tried to remember it. It was a memory that was accompanied by the feeling of loss.


    Although among the three main wolf clans of the forest, the Bibi clan had been neutral in the fight against the wolves. But that was partly because they were the weakest of the wolf clans.


    It didn¡¯t mean they were going to forgive the spiders for killing their kinsmen, they would attempt to kill on sight any spider they saw.


    The spiders had already begun to release hissing sounds and the wolves growled.


    Seeing this, Kael glanced to the side with nonchalance, observing as the two species hurled racial slurs at each other.


    He wondered just how many evolutions a spider needed to go through before they could become as powerful as the ones in front of him.


    Kael could also tell that these spiders were not of the same power level, their spirit power varied in intensity, some higher than the other.


    For most of the spiders present, even though they had already awakened their spider hearts, they were just as strong as an ordinary wolf.


    Their starting point was much lower than the wolves so this had to be the case. This made spiders like Natalia an oddity.


    Who knew how many evolutions she went through and how long it took her to reach her current level?


    "Stand down!" Commander Bibi ordered his wolves hurriedly. He also didn¡¯t like these spiders one bit, but he had to cooperate because of Kael.


    He had seen Kael¡¯s fingers twitch slightly just before he ordered the wolves to stand down. Commander Bibi felt the chill down his spine, it was better not to needlessly annoy Kael just because of their personal beef.


    "The kingdom now operates with these Web Handlers. You can keep your grievances for now." Kael said.


    He frowned, he was at least aware that soldiers of any nation should not be bearing mass resentment towards anything that the leader supported.


    Thankfully, Natalia was smart and stepped up, "Wolves, on behalf of my race I apologize for what you all went through, I understand how you feel.


    But believe me, my Darktale Web Handlers had nothing to do with the attacks.


    However, in hopes that you all forgive us, I shall ensure that nothing but honest business is conducted between me and your king."


    Natalia¡¯s words were soft and they were accompanied by a spirit wave that placated the restlessness of the wolves. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The wolves calmed down, wondering what they found in Natalia¡¯s words that made them so forgiving all of a sudden.


    Kael spoke up then, "Did you bring the information I asked for?"


    "Yes," Natalia nodded, then brought out a ball of webs from behind her. Kael didn¡¯t know if the ball of webs had been behind her all this while and he couldn¡¯t be bothered to ask.


    "What¡¯s that?" He asked.


    "This is merely something that we use to record knowledge for non-spiders. You don¡¯t need to be spiritually powered to be able to derive information from this.


    You just need to will it and the web ball will transfer the information directly into your mind." Natalia answered truthfully.


    She then walked over on her eight legs, intending to hand the web ball to Kael herself.


    As she got closer to him, Kael noticed something, ¡¯They are really big,¡¯ He thought in his mind while giving her an indifferent glance.


    When she arrived in front of him, Kael could see that she was slightly taller than him, mostly because of her long spider legs.


    If one ignored the creepy spider¡¯s lower half, Natalia would be considered a very rare beauty. The six dots on her cheeks just seemed to add to that mysterious attractiveness that she had.


    However as Kael saw her stand in front of him, as he raised his eyes upward slightly to look into her black eyes, he discovered that he wasn¡¯t aroused at all.


    Kael was a man, and a man, most days of the week, cannot choose who makes them feel aroused. It just happens.


    But as Kael stared at Natalia, he just felt like he was looking at another creature that wasn¡¯t a lion.


    Maybe it was the scent that she was giving off or that he already knew that this was a spider, he just didn¡¯t feel any atom of sexual attraction to her.


    The thought of what he wanted to do to N¡¯bay¨¦ made his rod twitch slightly yet the thought of him drowning his head in those big breasts made him feel¡­meh.


    "Here," Natalia stretched out her hand to hand the web ball over to Kael. Kael snapped out of his thoughts and took the ball from her hand.


    Her fingers brushed his by a hair¡¯s breadth. Natalia felt the sheer explosiveness hidden beneath Kael¡¯s skin just from that faint touch. It was surprising how so much raging power could be sealed inside this golden-eyed person.


    Kael also felt the crisp and cold sensation of Natalia¡¯s skin. Her skin was fair and smooth but it felt like he rubbed his fingers against a metallic surface.


    The contrast between how it looked and how it felt was quite confusing to an ordinary mind.


    Kael retracted his hand, observing the white web ball closely. He did as Natalia suggested, willing for the information within the ball to enter his mind, and it did.


    Like a tap that had been turned on, the information started flowing in steady streams.


    "And as a gesture of our goodwill, I put an extra information in there for you. It concerns the mountain and I think it would benefit you in some way." Natalia said.


    Kael nodded before removing his focus from the web ball, he would check in detail at a later time. He stepped aside so that Natalia could see the deer carcasses behind them.


    Natalia had already seen the deer carcasses and had simply been waiting for this moment.


    Her spirit energy erupted as he gave a direct command to the spiders behind her. The multiple dog-sized spiders immediately went forward.


    "Make way for them," Commander Bibi said. The wolves stepped aside as the Spiders approached the deer carcasses.


    The spiders immediately went to work, wrapping their webs around each deer and forming a white cocoon around them.


    As the spiders dragged the deer back, Natalia suddenly looked far into the distance, her eyes narrowing and the six dots on her cheeks shrinking to pin tips.


    "Who¡­is that?" She asked, feeling a very faint but unique spirit signature in the distance.


    Kael raised his eyebrows, surprised that she could detect Priya¡¯s rising spirit energy from so far away. Natalia was indeed powerful.


    Kael himself couldn¡¯t feel anything unless he went closer. But he knew that Priya was the one who Natalia was sensing.


    "Hope you are not intimidated?" Kael asked with a playful smirk. That seductive smile that was usually on Natalia¡¯s face was wiped clean.


    "No, just curious." She replied.


    "Okay," Kael said, he wasn¡¯t going to reveal all his cards, not now.


    Natalia frowned, the spirit energy she was feeling was very much weaker than hers but it was also threatening. The spirit signature reminded her of one particular spider that was very good at mind control techniques.


    That spider had been a menace in the spider society. Because of him, no one knew who to trust for a very long time. Thankfully, he died of old age.


    Natalia had been one of the victims of that spider¡¯s mind control and she was very familiar with the spirit signature.


    What she was feeling, despite it being very far away, was very similar to that spider¡¯s spirit signature. What did this mean?


    "Is it one of yours?" Natalia asked after some contemplation. She was tempted to go and kill the source of that spirit signature before it was too late but she doubted if she could get past Kael if he didn¡¯t let her.


    Kael simply nodded his head, to which Natalia sighed.


    Natalia nodded before she turned around and walked to the edge of the burrow entrance, ready to enter it.


    "I¡¯m looking forward to your future information requests King Kael. I¡¯ll see you later." With that, Natalia climbed into the burrow, confident that she had established a business relationship with a powerful patron.


    Kael watched the spiders leave as they dragged the web cocoons into the burrow.


    He looked at the web ball in his hands before giving out a command to Bibi IV,


    "Let¡¯s go,"


    Commander Bibi barked and the wolves formed two rows behind and in front of Kael, guarding him from all sides.


    Ruda and Zabita walked beside him and Commander Bibi walked in front. This was an escort service that wasn¡¯t really needed.


    However, Kael knew that Natalia had her eyes on them one way or the other. The manner in which Natalia came and went couldn¡¯t be downplayed, he too had to go aura for aura.

 Chapter 95: Aquatic Meat

    The group walked into the part of the forest where N¡¯bay¨¦ had her observation runes spread out.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ had stayed back as Kael felt it was careless for the two tier 3 lions to leave the cave at the same time. At least, one of them had to be close by to watch over the three vulnerable lionesses during their evolution.


    After they entered their controlled area close to the mountain, the wolves dispersed under the direction of Commander Bibi, off to patrol the tiny kingdom.


    As Kael walked back to the cave accompanied by Ruda and Zabita who walked beside him, he sank into thought once again.


    It was as if the transaction he just had with Natalia was of no importance compared to what he was thinking of at the moment.


    And indeed, since Kael had not clearly checked the contents of the web ball, the thing on his mind was considered more important.


    What Kael was of course thinking of was the story Burdo had given him after he had woken up from his unconscious state one week ago.


    According to Burdo, after he was banished from the Hot Lion pride, he wandered for months in an unknown direction until he found the edge of the savage lands, the sea, and he didn¡¯t make this journey alone.


    His journey was mostly accompanied by hunger and loneliness. This gave time for the resentment he felt towards his father to fester and grow.


    He was chased by multiple lion prides and had encounters with very dangerous creatures. However, Burdo¡¯s desire to live surmounted his ego and greed. He was able to escape every time and keep his life to himself, pledging to take his revenge every time something forced him to run away.


    But Burdo realized that things couldn¡¯t continue like this, he was always starving and most adult prey could see him coming from afar. His success in the art of hunting was roughly three out of ten attempts.


    Because of this, Burdo attached himself to the next pride that he found. A small pride with one male pride leader and seven females.


    He actively showed submission to this pride leader even though he was not weaker. He could challenge the pride leader but that wouldn¡¯t matter because the lionesses would instinctively protect their leader if they could, irrespective of who was stronger.


    They would rather be with their pride leader rather than some stranger.


    After actively showing his willingness to surrender, the pride leader let him stay around.


    Unfortunately, this pride had not found a suitable place to settle down and we¡¯re still wondering. All the territories with an abundance of prey were taken by more powerful. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Burdo had to follow them around, walking through the night and resting all through the day. This new lifestyle was bearable because Burdo then had access to more food.


    With the help of the lionesses hunting, he was able to enjoy the privilege of living with a pride.


    This appreciation didn¡¯t last though as Burdo¡¯s greed soon took over. He envied the pride leader for the loyalty the lionesses showed to him.


    He wanted that loyalty, he also wanted to be able to eat first after every hunt and be able to mate with the lionesses whenever he was in the mood.


    So, Burdo conspired to take that which he didn¡¯t have from the one who had.


    He began to make secret advances on six of the lionesses, a very bold move. His actions were, however daring, not reported.


    Burdo had some element of luck that aided him in avoiding multiple dangers that would have guaranteed his death.


    His secret advances were met with resistance but he didn¡¯t give up. The fact that they didn¡¯t report this to their pride leader made him feel that he had a chance.


    He was basically copying Kael.


    He purposely avoided one particular lioness as she was the most loyal to the pride leader. She was like Big Aunt, any attempt on her would immediately backfire.


    At some time, Burdo and the pride arrived at the seaside. The sight of so much water was stunning and very memorable.


    The pride decided to continue their walk on the seemingly infinite beach. They walked an unknown amount of distance before Burdo and the pride encountered the thing which propelled them to tier 2.


    One fine morning, after a long night of walking by the beachside, the pride leader was the first to pick up a strange smell.


    The others soon picked up that scent but couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was, the scent was quite appealing, however.


    As soon as the morning breeze picked up, the strange fishy smell hit them like a truck running down a mountain. Its appealing factor made their mouths drool, never had they felt so much appetite for something they had never seen before.


    They rushed forth with all their might, forgetting that they were supposed to rest. Their reason is that if they could perceive it, other predators could also perceive it.


    And they were right for that.


    They didn¡¯t run for long before they found a gigantic figure in the distance resting motionlessly near the shore.


    As they got closer, they became cautious, slowing down to better observe this beast.


    This thing was simply huge, Burdo had not been able to describe how big it was exactly, but according to him, it was like a small mountain.


    The body of the washed-up beast cast a large shadow over the beach simply laying on its side.


    It looked like a fish, except that it didn¡¯t have any visible fish scales. Its black and white body was shaped like a certain stretched-oval fruit.


    Its tail ended in a vertical fin and its head was triangle in shape with a slightly pointy snout.


    The mouth of the beast was open for all to see the rows of razor-sharp teeth lining its gum. The inky black eyes were wide open, staring unblinkingly at the sunny sky.


    The underbelly of this supposed aquatic beast was a faded white color while the top and fins were black. Across its colossal body were terrifyingly large scars.


    The scars were either round or gashes. The round scars followed a pattern all over the body, as if what had made these scars had been wrapping itself around the washed-up beast.


    And the scars were still fresh¡­


    Obviously, only an equally large or larger beast could make such scars. The washed-up fish-looking creature had clearly fought a battle before it lost its life.


    The sea had been generous to allow the body of this fish-looking creature to get washed up to the beach.


    This was the beast that was letting off that strange smell. And just as they had thought, they weren¡¯t the only ones who had perceived the scent.


    By the time they arrived at the bottom of the carcass, multiple predatory birds, reptiles, felines, and canines had already begun to eat into the carcass.


    The beast was big enough for all the animals present to eat without necessarily getting in each other¡¯s way so the lions immediately went to work in filling up their bellies.


    This was the first time that Burdo had tasted the flesh of an animal that had awakened its heart and a really powerful one at that. The sensation of raw energy flowing from his stomach to every part of his body was truly addicting.


    And so they ate and ate until they couldn¡¯t eat anymore. Still, they didn¡¯t leave, none of the animals left after filling up their bellies.


    No one would leave such a large amount of food in the wild. And so, they stayed for days.


    When they felt the slightest bit of hunger, they would take a bite out of the magnificent carcass.


    This was also the time that Burdo used to his advantage to dive into the lives of those six lionesses.


    The pride leader was so busy defending their own pound of flesh that he had not yet noticed how six of the seven lionesses in his pride were distancing themselves from him.


    Unfortunately, most good things never last. The meat on the body gigantic fish-like creature was running out.


    Soon, the lions would cross paths with the other animals over space to eat. And when that happens, it would be the end of the happy times.


    That would have been the case, it SHOULD have been the case. This was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


    But the sea, like it had a collective mind of its own, had other plans.


    Burdo and the pride were just about to confront three cheetah brothers when the sea spat out another humongous corpse.


    This new creature looked very much like a fish, with transparent fins and a silver body. This fish also had tentacle-like scars on its body.


    It wasn¡¯t as large as the first aquatic beast but it brought a sense of relief to the animals on the beach. At least, this new addition would give them more time.


    Their joy soon turned to confusion as another corpse surfaced on the beach again. This one smaller, having four legs like a mammal but with scales and hooves, looking very similar to a zebra or a horse.


    Their confusion increased as the sea kept on washing up more aquatic animals on the beaches around them.


    Each aquatic animal had one thing in common, they all had fresh tentacle scars on their bodies.

 Chapter 96: Paradise Beach

    More aquatic beasts with tentacle scars kept on appearing on the beach, all of them of immense size and with fresh wounds.


    But the beneficiaries of this occurrence were at the end of the day¡­animals. There was little room for them to think too deeply about what was happening, they could only enjoy it.


    And like that, a paradise was created. A paradise for the meat eaters as the food that kept on showing up was more than enough for their numbers.


    Soon, more predators were attracted to the location after the wind carried the smell far and wide.


    Hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, wolves, jackals foxes, bears, birds of prey, and even some really large crocodiles came to feast on this amazing buffet at the edge of savage lands.


    Even other lions showed up to enjoy the bountiful beach.


    Despite their numbers, the animals didn¡¯t need to fight with each other, the food was large and numerous. Before they were done with one aquatic beast, another would have been washed up to the beach.


    It started to get out of hand as the predators could no longer see the vast body of water beyond the large wall of aquatic beast carcasses.


    Another thing that was happening was evolution. Many animals didn¡¯t know it but the intake of so much meat that contained the energy of a beast who had probably awakened its heart had caused them to begin changing.


    Burdo already had his vision becoming clearer and his body becoming stronger. His thinking became more complex and he was able to start processing information better than before.


    Not just him, but the lion and lioness of his pride as well as the other animals had begun to notice changes in their bodies.


    Most of the animals were visibly evolving into aquatic-looking animals.


    The crocodiles for example turned a greenish-blue, their scales growing wider and becoming more glossy. Their sharp teeth grew out of their mouth as white curved fangs with extremely sharp points.


    They grew in size, their body adjusting itself for deep sea habitation.


    Not all animals evolved into aquatic subspecies though, as some creatures were not even allowed by the heavens to be able to survive in water.


    Some birds turned white and began to emit chilling auras, one wave of their wings would send frost out.


    It was the same with the bears. Instead of evolving into aquatic beasts, they simply turned into white-furred giants that kept on releasing cold killing intent unintentionally.


    Even the cheetahs, out of the dozen or more that were there, only had one who evolved into an aquatic cheetah. The rest mostly evolved into forms that made use of the power of fire or electricity.


    Among the lions, almost all of them were evolving into their aquatic subspecies.


    Burdo noticed his fur and almost-fully developed mane falling off. Azure scales began to grow all over his body and his fur fell off.


    He found himself being drawn closer to the sea, something inside him telling him that that was the best place for him.


    Another development had also begun to take place, and that was the pride¡¯s leader¡¯s sluggishness with evolution. He was barely changing.


    For the pride leader, he needed to evolve as soon as possible. Just because there was hardly any conflict in this place didn¡¯t mean other lions out there weren¡¯t eyeing his lionesses.


    With no other choice, he placed his trust in Burdo who had now gotten bigger and stronger than him. Still, Burdo behaved like a subordinate, which the pride leader appreciated very much, a mistake he would pay for with his life.


    A time came when the pride leader¡¯s libido had risen and he began to make more advances at ¡¯his¡¯ lionesses.


    Unsurprisingly, the only lioness that let him mate was the singular lioness that Burdo had avoided, the most loyal one.


    The six other lionesses all shunned the pride leader, especially with how they had all evolved completely into Water Lionesses but the pride leader was still not done with his evolution after so long.


    They were of a higher tier than the pride leader, why should they settle for him when they had Burdo who had completed his evolution long ago and was more appealing physically?


    It was only at this time that the pride leader was able to realize the danger he had put himself in.


    Soon the pride was divided, with six water lionesses in Burdo¡¯s side, and one water lioness in the pride leader¡¯s side.


    Burdo and his six lionesses spent more time in the sea, exploring the water world and usually only came to the beach to feast on one of the humongous beasts.


    The pride leader could only watch in despair, he was evolving slowly and could not breathe underwater like Burdo and his lionesses. He could not even dare to challenge Burdo to defend his dignity.


    He could only watch as Burdo put him in a cuckold.


    The pride leader began to avoid Burdo with his single supporter. He had dug his grave and was not ready to lay in it.


    Burdo, however, was not willing to let him go. Previously, he had merely been acting calm and submissive, but now that everything was open, there was not much need to pretend.


    He has always wanted to take what belonged to another pride leader, and this pride leader was perfect to understand how it felt.


    It had happened one night after they had just finished eating from the carcass of a big horse-like aquatic beast. Burdo suddenly descended on the pride leader, breaking his neck with one bite.


    The loyal lioness of the pride leader could only run away after being beaten up by Burdo¡¯s six lionesses.


    As Burdo stood over the dead body of the pride leader, he relished the feeling he got after killing a pride leader.


    Unwillingly, memories of when he had fought his father. Unlike this short battle, the fight with his father resulted in him being beaten up and banished from the pride.


    He had not yet let go of that resentment, and now that he looked over the body of this pride leader, he was filled with confidence.


    Maybe, he could finally go back and take what his father had denied him. This was a mental block that Burdo had to get rid of if not he wouldn¡¯t be satisfied.


    The thought stayed in his mind so much that he stopped eating. The beach full of a variety of delicious aquatic beasts was no longer appetizing to him. He had to solve his daddy issues and he had to solve them fast.


    And that was how he left the Predator Paradise beach with the six lionesses. He didn¡¯t bother trying to learn about the powers that he had gotten, he was in a hurry to prove his father wrong.


    Burdo and the six lionesses swam by the seaside as swimming was now faster than running for them.


    It was that decision to go back that led them to follow a river infested with deadly piranhas.


    A simple quest, the return of a ¡¯prodigal¡¯ son, turned into a desperate escape for life.


    That situation was what led to him finding his brother, Kael.


    ###########


    Kael was impressed with Burdo but he was more interested in that paradise beach.


    There were just so many questions to ask that Kael had to sink himself in thought. Burdo¡¯s story sounded simple to the average ear, but for someone like Kael who now thought from the perspective of a king.


    Where was this paradise beach? Why were so many aquatic beasts washed up on the beach? What was killing them?


    What about the predators? Most of them would eventually evolve.


    The paradise beach was literally a haven for meat eaters. They could eat to their satisfaction without fighting for it and still get to evolve.


    The more time that was spent there, the more those carnivores would become stronger. That place was a treasure trove.


    Burdo didn¡¯t even mention anything about eating the hearts, just the flesh alone was enough to stimulate an evolution.


    ¡¯Should I go?¡¯ Kael asked himself. He was simply considering this, that beach had enough resources to propel him to tier 4, maybe even tier 5.


    But Kael calmed down, there were still a lot of things to do here. He had to conquer the mountain and establish it as his center of command, he still had to expand his kingdom and annex other animals into caste systems.


    There were some things he hadn¡¯t yet finished experimenting with, like that mushroom he saw or the currency he planned on creating. He hadn¡¯t even finished learning magic from N¡¯bay¨¦.


    Before he could go to that beach, he would have to make some preparations as there would be many powerful creatures there by that time. At least, all his lionesses would have to be tier 3. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He also wouldn¡¯t be going with just his pride. If Kael was to take over that beach and take all the resources for himself and his people, he would need an army.


    With that thought, Kael rested his back on one of the trees near N¡¯bay¨¦ cave. He looked at the web ball in his hand with interest.


    The information in this web ball would either deter him from taking an action or help him take an action. Either way, he was curious.


    Kael willed it and a steady stream of information began to flow into his head from the web ball.

 Chapter 97: The Powder

    As the information drilled into Kael¡¯s mind, he wondered what mysterious mechanics the spiders had used to engineer this thing.


    Based on appearance alone, it looked like a ball of fine white silk. There was nothing special to it other than its whiteness.


    It was only after having the ¡¯Will¡¯ to see the contents of the web ball that one would marvel at the complexity of such an item.


    The web ball contained information on certain resources that could be found in and out of the forest.


    The first one was a red fruit-like item that could be eaten by both herbivores and carnivores. It was called Meat Fruit and grew on specific trees.


    Luckily, they could be grown in any location, it was just that it took time for them to grow, and before the trees matured, they would usually be trampled by large creatures.


    It was an item that most animals would attempt to devour the moment they found it, so it was considered to be in high demand and consumable.


    It was good if one considered its potential as a currency or medium of exchange. The only problem was that it couldn¡¯t be stored for too long after harvested from the tree as it would eventually spoil.


    The next item that was mentioned was also related to trees. This item was a type of wood. There was no name for it yet and the other distinguishing characteristic of the wood was its metallic black texture.


    It was the only wood they heard of that had the properties of metal.


    If used well, it could be turned into a currency since it was rare. It¡¯s just that the animals of the forest had no practical use for it and most animals don¡¯t give it as much as a second look after passing by.


    Only a selected number of animals would outright go out of their way to look for these trees which don¡¯t even bear any fruits.


    And speaking of metallic, the third item data in the web ball was a type of metal ore.


    Again, most animals don¡¯t even use it. Kael knew that for animals in the wild to start caring about the uses of these types of materials, they would have to be comparable to tier 3 first.


    Opposable thumbs were a very big driving force of curiosity. But then again, most creatures still preferred their original forms to their humanoid forms.


    The only creatures that would have permanent use of these things would be people like N¡¯bay¨¦ or Nalli or maybe Fortune Lionesses like Olivia.


    Kael browsed through the information, a frown appearing on his face. Most of the items he was seeing didn¡¯t soothe his taste.


    Yes, they could be used as a media of exchange but they had one problem or the other. Either they were too rare to circulate well enough or they were highly perishable in storage.


    There were rare crystals that could only be found in certain places, specific animal bones that weren¡¯t quite common, and certain fruits that would decay after a week of no use.


    All of them had some sort of value, but in the forest, that value was overshadowed by the downside. If Kael wanted to make any of these things an official currency, he would have to manually look for a way to counter those flaws.


    He would need a large piece of land just for growing those black metal trees.


    It was the same case for those special fruits. He would have to dedicate a large piece of land just to cultivate trees that bear those types of fruits.


    For the rare crystals and metals, he would have to look for mining veins, then he would have to find creatures capable of mining those resources.


    Kael sighed, each of these resources was very valuable.


    Kael checked until his eyes lit up, he found something interesting.


    According to Natalia, this thing was a powder-like substance that when added to some food, could either enhance or destroy its taste.


    The spiders are still experimenting with the uses of this powder. From what they know, the salt could also help gather the energy in meat or vegetables and prevent it from dissipating.


    When used well, this powder-like substance could not only enhance taste, but it could also enhance energy and nutrition intake.


    Having enough of this powder added to food could even help animals speed up their evolution stimulation.


    ¡¯Isn¡¯t this salt or sugar? No, it says that it enhances the taste of everything, Salt and sugar can only better the taste of certain things.¡¯


    Natalia didn¡¯t drop a name for this resource as it didn¡¯t have an official name yet. It was simply called The Powder due to its physical appearance.


    An image of The Powder was added for Kael to observe, just like the other items. The Powder was basically a faded white powdery substance, the best way to describe it was that it looked like crystalized powdered milk.


    It was soluble in water but could be extracted out of anything. If added to raw meat to enhance taste and energy intake, the powder could still be extracted from feces later in the future.


    Although, repeated extraction results in lower and lower quantity extracted each time. Some of the powder when taken usually ends up being permanently consumed.


    When extracted, it returns to its natural smooth powdery form.


    Another thing is that The Powder could be found almost anywhere. It could be found in rocks, in water, in plants, on animals, and so on. There were many ways to identify it when it wasn¡¯t in its natural form.


    The only problem that the powder had was its powder form and the fact that most of The Powder had to be extracted from something as only an estimated 30% are found in its naturally occurring state.


    Even the 30% that is found is usually loose and mixed with other things that need to be cleaned out and refined.


    The Powder had a lot of uses, maybe they hadn¡¯t even discovered everything about this resource.


    ¡¯Hmm, it¡¯s perfect.¡¯ Kael thought. The Powder was very good, it could be stored for long periods, it was valuable for its edible effects, it was naturally occurring for some reason, and it was not necessarily common, just rare enough to still be able to circulate around an economy.


    Kael looked through the information again, making sure to memorize as much as possible before he handed the web ball to N¡¯bay¨¦ for maximum reverse engineering.


    The technology of this web fascinated Kael that much.


    As Kael looked through the contents of the web ball, he noticed that Natalia had knowingly or unknowingly left some added information. This wasn¡¯t the special information that she had mentioned, it was just some minor additions to the original data.


    There was information about creatures who were good at finding some of these resources.


    The creature that I tested Kael among all those that were mentioned was the Moles.


    The Mole race are creatures that primarily live in subterranean habitats. Kael knew moles from Earth, and from the look of things, they were very much similar to the moles in this world.


    The moles had an uncanny ability to find precious metals and gems when digging. Their most common ability when their hearts were awakened was that of earth, they were adept at finding these precious underground resources.


    ¡¯Miners,¡¯ Was the first thing that came to Kael¡¯s mind. Just as how he had put the wolves in the warrior caste, he immediately planned on creating a Miner Caste just for the Mole race.


    To him, the Mole race was just another race waiting to be conquered by the lions. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately, Natalia did not add information on where they could be found or how to find them. As they were known to dwell underground, finding them would take some time.


    ¡¯Did she plan this intentionally?¡¯ Kael thought. Natalia was just as scheming as N¡¯bay¨¦, who knew if she had deliberately input information about the Moles and other creatures knowing that Kael would be interested in them.


    ¡¯She¡¯s trying to keep me busy¡­¡¯ Kael concluded with a sly smile on his face. He guessed that Natalia already knew that he would definitely think of conquering the spiders, so she sent things that would distract him and take his attention away from them.


    ¡¯Well played,¡¯ Kael mused, drawing up another scheme of his in his mind.


    "She talked about a bonus package, where is it?" Kael asked himself. As soon as he had this intention, a new stream of knowledge began flowing into Kael¡¯s mind.


    "Hmm," Kael frowned, taking on a serious demeanor as he glazed through the well-arranged data.


    This new bit of information was about entities that lived on the mountain but were very secluded.


    The data was mostly about some powerful creatures who usually preferred to manipulate things from the background rather than fight head-on. The list wasn¡¯t long, but it was detailed.


    On the list, two entities had more details about them than the others, at the same, there was not much about them that was useful.


    Among the two special creatures was Isaiah, the crane who had the mysterious ability to control space.


    Then there was Darius, the lightning tiger who was currently at the point of evolving into a¡­tier four Tiger.


    Kael¡¯s eyes widened, "Fuck!..."

 Chapter 98: Venting Frustrations

    "N¡¯BAY¨¦!" Kael¡¯s telepathic voice thundered out, unknowingly reaching the minds of all nearby.


    Even Priya who was meditating by the cave entrance with her eyes closed frowned, then her expression softened as she returned to her meditation.


    N¡¯bay¨¦, in her humanoid form, who was busy fixing and adjusting some runes on one of her six magical trees, received the loud telepathic message.


    She immediately paused her actions, shocked by the unhidden rage attached to that voice.


    With different thoughts in her head, she walked out of the six-tree clearing and headed toward Kael¡¯s position.


    Her two feet moved uncharacteristically slow and her head was sluggish. This was the first time that Kael sounded so angry at her, he was always talking in a normal intellectual manner when conversing with her, what changed?


    Her head was sluggish as the closer she got to Kael, the more she felt fear. She really didn¡¯t want to go but the slight pain that came over her body reminded her of the Primordial contract she had signed.


    She could not take on any act against Kael or disobey his order with alternative intent without feeling pain that could lead to death.


    The act of trying to disobey Kael¡¯s call could cause her pain but it wasn¡¯t enough reason to lead to death. Still, the pain was stinging.


    She was tempted to nullify her contract immediately. Unlike the other lionesses, she still had nine years to consider whether to be permanently bound to Kael.


    But N¡¯bay¨¦ quickly became calm again, her intelligence suppressing all the erratic emotions.


    ¡¯How can I be thinking of backing off just because he got angry? Where is my sense of self.¡¯


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s flustered mind became calm and she walked steadily to Kael. She passed by the entrance of the cave, receiving worried gazes from Zabita, Olivia, Ruda, and Diane.


    Upon reaching the tree where Kael was resting on, N¡¯bay¨¦ paused. She looked at Kael cautiously, doing well to hide her fear.


    She didn¡¯t know why Kael was looking at her like he could eat her up and spit her out any moment.


    Right now, Kael looked like he was about to burst out with all his power and might. He was looking at N¡¯bay¨¦ but his attention was on the mountain peak.


    To N¡¯bay¨¦, Kael¡¯s eyes were those of an extremely paranoid leader. Her eyes dropped lower to see the web ball gripped in Kael¡¯s palm, she could guess what was wrong.


    "Why didn¡¯t you tell me about Darius and Isaiah?" Kael said through gritted teeth. The feeling of knowing an enemy was growing stronger when they could have been weeded out earlier on was very aggravating.


    "I did," N¡¯bay¨¦ replied calmly while keeping some distance between her and Kael. She smartly judged that now wasn¡¯t the time to try and soothe Kael¡¯s anger.


    "You didn¡¯t!" Kael¡¯s sharp golden eyes had never been scarier. Even when he fought Bibi III, he wasn¡¯t like this.


    "I did, I mentioned them during a casual conversation." N¡¯bay¨¦ defended herself.


    "Perhaps, you should have elaborated more on who they were. If you had been intentional with their description, I would have definitely remembered." Kael said, his level of anger could only be imagined simply by looking at his eyes.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ lowered her eyes, looking directly at him could make him angrier which wasn¡¯t good. "I¡¯m sorry," She finally said after a few seconds of silence.


    Kael didn¡¯t respond, rather, he simply tossed the web ball to N¡¯bay¨¦ who easily caught it.


    She looked at Kael, then looked at the web ball. She willed for the information within to be revealed to her and it did.


    She surfed through the data quickly, not bothering about anything that didn¡¯t have to do with the red tiger and the crane.


    Using Darius and Isaiah similar to the search index on a computer search bar, she was able to find the information inside that was related to them. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ah¡­" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s small mouth opened wide to form an ¡¯o¡¯ shape.


    "Exactly," Kael stood up quickly before N¡¯bay¨¦ could react and closed the distance between both of them.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ looked up at Kael, only now understanding the anger that Kael felt. She shivered, realizing what it meant if this information was true, she too had started becoming paranoid.


    Kael looked down at N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s naked body, his eyes gleaming with frustration. "If this is true then we have already lost."


    "Wh¡­what should we do?" N¡¯bay¨¦ asked, as intelligent as she was, she couldn¡¯t think of any way to solve this problem immediately.


    If indeed Darius was about to evolve into a tier 4 tiger, then they would be unable to stop him if he decided to take over the mountain for himself.


    By then, Darius wouldn¡¯t even need numbers like Kael did right now, he would just conquer the mountain with his own claws.


    And then there was Isiah, a really dangerous and powerful bird with space powers. That crane was constantly guarding his friend at this delicate time.


    "There is nothing we can do. Nothing but wait.


    If we tried to scale the mountain now, not only would we have to face Darius and Isaiah, but also the remaining creatures of the mountain comparable to tier 3 lions.


    We have merely eliminated the Rhino, the water snake, the porcupine, and subjugated one of the bears There are still more than a dozen of such creatures inhabiting this mountain.


    We can only wait and plan harder."


    As Kael said this, his hand reached up to hold N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s arm, N¡¯bay¨¦ shivered from his touch.


    Kael lightly squeezed her arm, feeling the smooth skin and his frustration transforming into carnality.


    "Or¡­ *ugh*... we can still be lucky enough. We have Olivia." N¡¯bay¨¦ said, feeling her body heat up from the way Kael was rubbing and squeezing her arm.


    "Yes, we do," Kael said, he was still frowning but the outline of a plan was already in his mind.


    He suddenly pulled on N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s arm, forcing her to fall into his embrace and land her head on his muscular chest.


    His large hand landed on her butt, creating a clear crisp slapping sound.


    "And we also have Katari who will be useful in handling that Isaiah," Kael said as he gripped and squeezed N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s soft buttocks.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ did not say anything anymore, her crotch area was already wet. Kael intended to vent his frustration on her body and she was all down for it.


    It was either this or Kael ending up actually breaking someone, literally. It was going to be rough but it was still enjoyable for N¡¯bay¨¦


    Soon, the loud moans of N¡¯bay¨¦ and the grunts of Kael resounded in the vicinity. There were strange slapping sounds and yelps of pain, there was also the occasional sound of a tree falling over.


    N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s moans were especially sensual and louder than before, expressing the mix of pain and pleasure that she was feeling as well as her reluctance to let go.


    After more than two hours, Kael walked away from the area, leaving multiple fallen trees and an eerily quiet vicinity.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ lay on the floor on top of a mound of leaves, her head resting on one of the fallen trees and she sank deep into the realm of unconsciousness.


    However, Kael¡¯s lion rod still stood erect, even after all that tussle, he hadn¡¯t finished venting.


    He walked briskly, heading to the softest and fluffiest tier 2 lionesses he had in his pride, Olivia.


    Another hour passed with Olivia collapsing her chubby body to the ground. Still, the frown on Kael¡¯s face had not yet disappeared.


    With mysterious intentions, he turned his attention to Priya who had her eyes closed, oblivious to what was happening around her.


    Then he ignored her, his mind wasn¡¯t that clouded that he would disturb Priya at this delicate time.


    Kael¡¯s eyes finally settled on Ruda, Zabita, and Diane.


    "Who¡­"


    It was somewhat of a pity, for Katari. This was the intimacy she had craved for even as a tier 2 and one of the reasons why she chased tier 3. Yet Kael was handing it out after a period of frustration


    ######


    At the mountain foot, not too far from N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave.


    Six figures could be seen lying next to a large boulder that was attached to the mountain¡¯s steep side.


    The six figures Burdo and his remaining five water lionesses. Currently, they all had distraught expressions and indignance.


    They wanted to leave but the circle of stones with weird magic symbols on them prevented them from doing so.


    Even if they managed to break away from the magic stone encirclement, there were three wolves constantly guarding the area who would alert everyone if anything happened.


    The lionesses in particular were quite unwilling to be put in this situation. It had been one week since Kael had thrown them into this makeshift prison.


    Kael hadn¡¯t said anything about what he was going to do with Burdo. Burdo himself had been feeling quite depressed.


    Everything his mindset was built around was totally destroyed after some beating. How was he supposed to have fought his father if even his younger brother could do this to him?


    "That¡¯s enough thinking for the day," Kael¡¯s voice resounded in their ears as his golden-haired figure walked towards them from afar.


    As he got closer, they could see his relaxed expression as well as some purple fur on his skin.


    "Brother¡­" Burdo said, not out of genuine happiness but from tiredness and fear.


    "I will let you all go, but first, I need you to sign a contract," Kael said with a devilish smile on his face.

 Chapter 99: Betrothal Contract

    "Contract?" Burdo asked, unable to understand what his brother was talking about.


    Burdo cast his gaze on the golden-haired humanoid, his eyes devoid of the usual fierceness it once had. He had not just been beaten physically, but also emotionally.


    It was one thing to be defeated, it was another to be defeated so badly that he could not escape.


    To think that he had always taken pride in the fact that he could always come back to deal with his enemies after he got stronger.


    Him killing that pride leader at the beach had given him so much confidence that he felt like he could support the sky with his back alone. Now Kael had ruthlessly stepped on the confidence and had destroyed it completely.


    Right now, Burdo was just trying to think of a way to revive his ego and dignity in front of his lionesses. If he didn¡¯t, the events of that day would forever be a scar in his mind.


    He was thinking of how he could possibly overpower Kael one day but the more he thought of it, the more unlikely it seemed. Kael was already superior to him even when they were cubs.


    Whether it was in physical size or hunting prowess, Kael was far ahead. And now, that gap has only gotten bigger.


    He was trying hard not to imagine what his life would be like if he didn¡¯t find a way to become stronger than Kael.


    "Yes, a contract," Kael said, he looked down at the Water Lion with a cold indifferent gaze. Kael was very much tempted to kill Burdo and forget about him, but Burdo still had uses.


    "First of all, do you know the way back to the beach?" Kael asked with his muscular arms folded.


    "Yes, I think so," Burdo replied, the tone of his voice weaker than usual.


    "Good, that makes things easier."


    Two shining rectangular golden papers appeared in front of Burdo¡¯s battered but still healing face. His amphibious-slit eyes stared at the first contract with curiosity, reading the contents and understanding it perfectly.


    This Primordial contract was not the same as the contracts Kael had given the consorts of the Ol-mytee Pride.


    The contract Burdo was given was a clan contract, not a pride contract. A contract that would give Burdo a ¡¯high-rank position¡¯ in the clan Kael wanted to create.


    Normally, the most powerful lions who formed clans did not have the privilege of creating Primordial contracts. The only guarantee that the Prince lions would not overthrow the king was the king¡¯s strength.


    Looking at the contract, Burdo could see that Kael was offering him a position as the leader of the subordinate pride in his clan, the position of a prince.


    In return, he would be loyal and any act of treachery depending on its results would cause pain that would lead to death.


    It was basically like the consort contract, but with different stakes. Signing this contract was automatically signing away his freedom.


    He would have autonomy but only to a certain level and that point made Burdo think twice about it.


    The second contract was even stranger. It stated that the first compensation for Kael sparing Burdo¡¯s life was for Burdo¡¯s first daughter to be betrothed to Kael and become his consort.


    Burdo didn¡¯t even have any offspring yet, talk less of a grown daughter. But according to the contract, as soon as his first daughter is born, the betrothal contract would automatically turn into a consort contract.


    That is, this unborn child, who was supposed to be Kael¡¯s niece, would have her fate decided before she was even conceived. Perhaps, only Kael knew why he offered this contract to Burdo.


    Burdo looked at the two contracts, the five lionesses behind him also looked at the contents of the contracts with interest. To think that Kael would not harm them but instead offer them benefits.


    They weren¡¯t thinking ahead so they did not understand just how significant it would be to Burdo if he signed the contracts.


    He didn¡¯t have a problem with the betrothal contract, he could barely care about a daughter who was not even born yet.


    The clan contract was what unnerved him. He wanted to be a pride leader, yes, but did he really want to achieve that while being a subordinate of his younger brother?


    Without the contract, he still had hope that he could possibly get stronger in the future and wrestle away Kael¡¯s material powers. But now, even if he got stronger, it would take a godly level of scheming to actually betray Kael.


    The contract had loopholes, but he didn¡¯t have the ability to exploit it. And even if he did, would he dare to use it?


    The betrothal contract shattered into countless moats of light that spread out, Burdo signed the betrothal contract first.


    Kael nodded his head, he had expected this. Whether Burdo signed it or not did not matter to him now. He could still use brute force to make his brother obey him.


    The main reason clans were established was that Kings could not do everything by themselves, they needed to delegate.


    Kael¡¯s kingdom would continue expanding as king as he did everything right. The more it expanded, the harder it would be for him alone to control everything.


    Kael¡¯s preferred clan structure was to have the Ol-mytee pride as the dominant pride of the clan and have each subordinate clan represent one of the lionheart types.


    His obsessive-compulsive disorder was still kicking.


    Now that he had seen a pride comprising of only water lions, he of course would like them to join his clan as soon as possible.


    This way, he could satisfy his OCD while effectively delegating. If he could find a better candidate to lead the Water Pride, he would immediately kill Burdo. Keeping threats beside him was not his style, especially after learning about Darius.


    He just wanted to use Burdo as a puppet leader.


    "If I sign this contract, does that mean you have spared my life?" Burdo asked. The cold gaze Kael was giving him told him that he would not be safe, even if he signed the contract.


    "If you sign this contract, you can think of it as a chance to redeem yourself before I find your replacement." Kael was blunt.


    He wanted Burdo to know that he would be actively searching for his replacement and that he was very much replaceable.


    By being aware of his situation, Burdo would have to thread carefully from now on and make an effort to show his value. Only by showing value could he prevent Kael from seeing the need to eliminate him.


    This psychological manipulation would keep Burdo on his feet and allow Kael to take his eyes off him for some time.


    "...And if you don¡¯t, I will kill you now." Kael finished.


    Burdo¡¯s body shook from fright, long gone was the thought of overthrowing Kael¡­for now. At least, he knew Kael was not joking.


    Burdo signed the contract unwillingly.


    A golden crown tattoo appeared on his scaled forehead, just like on Kael¡¯s forehead. The crown tattoo was shorter and less decorated compared to the one that flashed on Kael¡¯s head.


    The five lionesses also had tattoos appear on their foreheads. Since they were technically part of Burdo¡¯s pride, they were roped into the contract against their will.


    Kael glanced at them, he could see the way they looked at him. He could also pick up some intentions from reading their surface thoughts. They were all emotionally attached to Burdo but they didn¡¯t mind if Kael was to suddenly kill him and take them for himself.


    After all, Kael represented power, majesty, and stability in their lives. In the human world, he was the equivalent of a wealthy businessman or politician, very few women can resist a man with that kind of status.


    The golden contract shattered into moats of light and the golden tattoos on their foreheads disappeared. Only now did Kael smile.


    "Who knows, maybe we could visit Father later in the future. You know, just to check how he¡¯s doing if he¡¯s still alive." Kael said casually while observing Burdo¡¯s reaction. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Burdo¡¯s eyes twitched at the mention of his father. Indeed, the banishment of that day was a deep scar in his mind.


    Kael used his leg to kick one of the stones, the magic stones encircling the water pride lost their glow as the magic shield dissolved. They were free, that¡¯s what it looked like.


    As Kael walked away, his nose twitched as a very familiar scent entered his nostrils. This was a scent he hadn¡¯t perceived in a long time.


    A smile crept on Kael¡¯s face but he was inwardly confused, ¡¯I thought she would never come back.¡¯


    At the same time, a large red fox entered the vicinity of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave. Diane, who was sharpening her claws on the side of a nearby boulder, was the first to notice the fox.


    "Vixy?"

 Chapter 100: The King I Am

    Vixy, the red fox who just appeared, walked slowly toward Diane. As she did so she took a look around, memories flashing past her eyes.


    She had not stayed in this place for a long time, perhaps a dyor slightly more. But she remembered she hadn¡¯t come here alone.


    Along with her kidnappers, the lions, he had come here with her partner, the one who she had formed a bond with over many matings.


    She had come here with a partner who he had imagined surviving the savage lands together till their old age.


    That imagination would never come through as she was unable to leave here with her life partner. All because of a blunder.


    She looked at the corner of the cave entrance, she could still remember that Ivan and she had slept there on the ground, tapping into each other¡¯s warmth.


    However, despite the fond memories passing through her mind, she remained rather indifferent. There was a new glint of ruthlessness and acceptance in her eyes, one that wasn¡¯t there before more than six months ago.


    Adding those to her already cunning nature, presented a really mischievous-looking fox.


    When she heard her name from Diane, she paused, looking at the muscular lioness warily.


    She had been battling with serious trust issues since that day when she saw Kael eat up Ivan with her naked eyes. There were nights when she could still see the gaze of despair Ivan gave her before he was munched to death.


    Vixy narrowed her eyes at Diane, at which Diane simply tilted her head to the side, wondering if something was wrong with the fox.


    It had been months since she saw the vixen, and Diane still remembered the look of devastation Vixy had when she realized that she had indirectly sentenced Ivan to death.


    It was a brutal world and one that was very unfair, but wasn¡¯t life unfair in general? Diane didn¡¯t see anything wrong with the way Ivan had died, and neither did she care about how Vixy felt.


    To her, what had happened was necessary for her King to be able to advance. She didn¡¯t see any wrong, neither did she see any right. All she saw was an expression of strength that Vixy had no way to fight against. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Long time," Diane said, her voice was revived by the red spirit fox.


    Vixy in response, unfurled her tails and a red spirit energy began to be emitted from her body.


    Diane frowned, not because of the might of Vixy¡¯s aura but because of the number of tails that were now behind her.


    If she remembers correctly, Vixy had two tails that would wave around in a mesmerizing way that distracted her opponents.


    Now, Vixy had three red and white fluffy tails waving around behind her. She had evolved, that itself could be seen


    Diane¡¯s eyes were trained on those three fluffy tails, and for some reason, she was unable to shift her gaze away.


    At the same time, her mind spun. She could guess what Vixy had undergone one evolution, then why was her aura not as strong as a typical tier 3 lion?


    Diane¡¯s eyes were turning red as she was lost in a trance without even knowing. Priya who was there but still in meditation mode frowned.


    Her eyelids twitched as a surprising amount of spirit energy was about to be released from her brows. Vixy felt her senses tingling as the feeling of fear nearly overwhelmed her.


    Priya had not even released her powers yet Vixy knew that she would not be able to defend against whatever she wanted to do.


    However, before Priya could open her eyes and take action, a masculine voice entered the vicinity as a calm telepathic wave.


    "Vixy, how nice of you to drop by¡­" Kael said as he walked out of the bushes and moved toward the dazed Diane. As soon as he appeared, his own spirit energy flowed out like water from a dam, washing away all the effects Vixy had on Diane.


    As soon as Diane snapped out of her trance and realized what had happened, she growled, exposing her terrifying fangs. If not that a humanoid figure had come to stand in front of her, she would have gone ahead to rip this red fox to meat shreds.


    "...And you even have the mind to probe Diane. Hehe, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re fearless, stupid, or just looking for trouble." Kael said.


    From the intensity of Vixy¡¯s spirit energy that drilled into Diane¡¯s mind when compared to the spirit energy that had actually been on her body, Kael could tell that Vixy had simply been probing for Diane¡¯s strengths and weaknesses.


    Perhaps, if she had found a weakness, Vixy would have exploited it to harm Diane.


    "Good day, Kael," Vixy said. There was no hate in her voice and she did not look at Kael in an unfriendly way. She acted as casual as she could be.


    "I know it¡¯s a good day, especially with you showing up all of a sudden. You have evolved, I see¡­" Kael said while observing the three red and white tails behind her back.


    He could also feel that although she had evolved, there were not many changes to her appearance and her aura was stronger than an average tier 2 lion but still weaker than a typical tier 3 lion.


    It was just as N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s theory stated: The weaker the creature, the higher the number of evolutions they would need to go through to catch up, and vice versa.


    "...I¡¯m afraid if you came for revenge, you won¡¯t get it," Kael said nonchalantly.


    "I did not come for revenge, I believe I¡¯m above that," Vixy stated while sitting down. Her eyes squinted until they were fine slits as she looked up at Kael¡¯s humanoid face.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦ told me to come back if I ever heard that you awoke from your transformation slumber." She said.


    "Oh, word sure spreads slowly in the forest," Kael said sarcastically.


    At this time, Zabita walked out of the cave to see Vixy standing there with a visible red aura surrounding her. "Oh, it¡¯s Vixy." She spoke into the cave.


    There was no noise and no reaction, those inside the cave had no desire to come out and meet the red fox, maybe they were too tired¡­


    "It¡¯s good that you came though, you could be of good use to me," Kael uttered as he put his hand behind his back and walked toward Vixy.


    Vixy¡¯s body flinched, she would rather not be too close to this dangerous lion in human form.


    "Use me? Do you only think of me as something to use for your goals?" She asked, although she already knew the answer.


    Kael¡¯s bare feet tapped the stony ground, his golden toenails decorated with little pieces of soil.


    "Yes, I do. It¡¯s the same way I have come to treat most people." Kael did not lie, he spoke words that he could support with his fist.


    "Most people?" Vixy wondered, picking up a keyword in Kael¡¯s sentence.


    Then the bushy side that Kael had walked over from shook slightly as an azure-scaled head popped out from behind the tree. It was Burdo.


    Vixy glanced at this water lion, feeling the weak aura coming off from his body before losing interest.


    "Is that why you killed Ivan?" Vixy asked.


    "No, at that time, my mind didn¡¯t work the way it did now. Ivan was a victim of circumstances, besides, you chose I¡¯m to disonthatbyou can save your life." Kael said as he began to circle around the large red fox.


    Vixy sighed after she heard Kael¡¯s words. She closed her eyes and took in deep breaths, trying to calm her mind.


    Before she came, she assumed she would be able to control herself, but now it was proving harder than he thought.


    Burdo, who followed Kael, observed all this. He could not hear their discussion as the telepathic channel was private but he could feel the tension in the air.


    Then there was Diane who stood over there with her claws bared, ready to spill blood if given a chance.


    "I did not come here to antagonize you Kael," Vixy said.


    "Oh, that¡¯s good for you then. Why did you come to me then? Were you afraid that I would kill you on sight just like I promised?


    Hehe, Vixy, you and I are somewhat smart people. We both know that the only reason I would fulfill a promise is if it is convenient¡­" Kael ended his words with a devilish chuckle.


    "I want to be part of your kingdom, that¡¯s why I came." Vixy finally said, unable to withstand the spirit pressure that Kael had been silently stacking on her mind.


    Kael¡¯s hand reached down to grab one of the fluffy tails. The tails were large and fluffy, allowing Kael to be able to hold the tip without bending down.


    "You want to join my kingdom¡­" Kael suddenly gripped the tail hard, earning him a yelp of pain from the red fox.


    "...but you do not address me like the King I am."

 Chapter 101: Surrounded By Threats

    Suddenly, Kael let go of the fluffy tail as he felt spirit energy rush into his mind. His eyes turned crimson for a second before returning to its original gold.


    Vixy shifted away from Kael, her eyes betraying the feeling of weariness she had.


    "Interesting," Kael said. Just now he had felt a strange state and had fallen into a trance where all his desires were met. The illusion was not realistic but it was enough to get Kael to feel complacent for a second.


    That unfamiliar feeling of complacency and comfort, as well as his strong spirit energy, was what snapped him out of the trance.


    "Sorry, I acted instinctively," Vixy said, not understanding why she was the one apologizing when Kael had been the first to attack her.


    "It¡¯s all right¡­" Kael said as he observed his hand. He studied the residual red energy that glimmered on the surface of his skin. "Just refer to me as King Kael from now on,"


    "I will,"


    "Aren¡¯t you angry that I killed Ivan? Aren¡¯t you going to at least seek justice for him?" Kael asked.


    Just like with Burdo, Duller, and Darius, he didn¡¯t want to continue keeping so many threats close to him just because they were still useful, he wasn¡¯t that stupid.


    He had to ask this because Vixy had a spirit-type Fox heart, reading her intentions would be difficult.


    "I was angry, but I have come to accept it. What happened that day was also partly my fault.


    If I was given a chance again, I still wouldn¡¯t want to die and I would still choose Ivan. I might be sly but I am not a hypocrite, King Kael."


    Vixy said with a firm mind. She grieved and had already accepted the loss of Ivan but she also knew she would definitely choose Ivan if she was given the chance again.


    All her life, she had been working to increase her chances of survival, and if Ivan¡¯s sacrifice had meant that she could live to see another day, then why not?


    Only in the face of death can the true nature of people like Vixy come out.


    Kael didn¡¯t believe her though, foxes were known to be very crafty.


    "Very well then, you shall discuss more with N¡¯bay¨¦ for now, when she is available. I¡¯ll call for a meeting at some point and you should be there by then." Kael said.


    Vixy was disturbed by Kael¡¯s request for her to talk with N¡¯bay¨¦. Wasn¡¯t she the one who gave her and Ivan the option that day?


    Busy, she didn¡¯t say anything. She primarily came because Kael was the only one who could ensure her survival in this wild world.


    Sure, Kael had killed and had eaten Ivan, but animals die in the forest every day. Death was the most common thing in the forest, who caused the death was of little importance in the grand scheme of things.


    In the forest, Kael was the only one who stood as a symbol of growth and stability among the other dominant creatures.


    He was the only one who recruited animals that weren¡¯t of his species like the wolves. Meaning he wasn¡¯t racist enough to kill just because a certain creature wasn¡¯t a lion like him.


    Despite his ruthless methods, one could not deny the fact that they were efficient and usually produced the desired results.


    All he had done and is still doing was nothing but a means to an end. Or an expected result, any process would be okay.


    Seeing and hearing of Kael¡¯s progress on the mountain, him defeating Bibi III and other things, she knew that Kael was the best person to hide behind.


    The only requirement was that she made herself as useful as possible, useful enough that Kael would not think of replacing her.


    It would take her time to let go of her past with Ivan, but she was ready to adapt, she was that decisive.


    Kael turned away facing the direction of the six-tree magic clearing. "Leave her alone," He said, stopping Diane from immediately pouncing on Vixy.


    "Zabita," Kael called out to the metal-clawed lioness who still stood at the cave entrance.


    "Yes,"


    "Go back to that Burrow later when the sun sets. Meet any Darktale Web Handler spider there and tell it that I request information on the extraction method for The Powder.


    Also, tell it that I need the location of the Moles and any information on Elephants¡­"


    Kael listed what he wanted and Zabita took note mentally.


    Burdo stood there, not understanding what had actually happened or what was happening. His five lionesses were still watching from behind the trees, still scared of Kael and the other lionesses.


    "Diane," Kael called to the muscular lioness. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes?"


    "Tell Commander Bibi to meet us at the mother bear¡¯s lair tomorrow morning for an important meeting," Kael ordered.


    As soon as Kael finished his sentence, Diane stomped her front paw in the ground, as if she was saluting Kael. Then she ran out from the vicinity of the cave to look for Commander Bibi.


    With all that said, Kael walked away to the six-tree clearing, leaving Burdo and Vixy in front of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave.


    Vixy did not dare to try and go into the cave, her instincts told her that she would regret it. Burdo on the other hand was oblivious, but he did not think of going into the cave either.


    "So, are you his new recruit?" Vixy asked Burdo nonchalantly. She wasn¡¯t interested in talking with this lion that had such a weak aura but since there was no one else to talk to, she could only settle for less.


    "Who?" Burdo¡¯s eyes rested on Vixy¡¯s red-furred body. He was calmer and his eyes showed fierceness, this was different from when he was with Kael. He seemed to have recovered his confidence after Kael left the area.


    "Kael,"


    "I¡¯m his older brother," Burdo said, almost forgetting about his ego.


    "Older brother? Then why are you so weak? Why were you projecting so much fear when he was still standing here?" Vixy asked as she sat down under a tree not too far from the cave entrance.


    Her questions were genuine and simply due to curiosity. It would be a lie if she said she hadn¡¯t felt the fear Burdo had for Kael.


    Burdo frowned, he chose not to answer. Without saying a word, he turned around and entered the bushes to meet his lionesses.


    Vixy tilted her head, confused. Then she put the matter at the back of her mind as memories of Ivan began sprouting once again.


    She sighed, a melancholic aura about her figure, and then she rested her head on the ground and closed her eyes. Her three large fluffy tails curled around her body, providing warmth.


    ######


    The next day, the morning sun rose into the sky and the mountain cast a vague shadow on the forest ground.


    At the front of the Kursela¡¯s cave, a couple of creatures sat in a circle formation with some space in between each of them.


    The most striking figure was the large golden lion whose presence suffocated the other. He sat there calmly, his dark gold mane swishing slowly with every movement he made.


    Next to him was Olivia, the chubby Fortune lioness. She asked simply here as a plus one, her combat ability was the worst, and letting her laze around at the cave was a waste.


    It was better if she followed Kael so that they could combine the power of their mysterious luck.


    Joining him in this circle formation was Kursela, the brown-furred War bear, and beside her were her two sons. The two little bear cubs played with each other, oblivious to what was happening around them.


    Olivia, who was close to these bear cubs, would sometimes use her tail to play with them.


    Kursela kept one eye on her cubs, and the other on the members who attended this meeting.


    Her eye was currently on a muscular wolf, a creature of War just like she was. Decorating his body were scars, he wore them like medals he had no choice but to wear.


    She remembered him, Bibi IV, now known as Commander Bibi. He had been present the day Bibi III and Kael had chosen to raid her territory.


    Next to Commander Bibi was a red fox that was larger than regular red foxes


    This was a new addition that all of them were seeing today.


    "Why isn¡¯t Burdo here?" Vixy asked. She didn¡¯t know what was going on between these two brothers and had expected Burdo to come for the meeting


    "His presence is not needed," Kael said nonchalantly.


    "King Kael, why did you call for this meeting, if I may ask?" Kursela asked. Of all of them present, she was the least respectful to Kael. After all, her judgment of Kael¡¯s strength was next to nothing and she only saw him as a cunning tier 3 lion.


    Kael ignored her tone which lacked grace, "It¡¯s to have a proper discussion about the hierarchy and power structure of the kingdom."


    Commander Bibi¡¯s eyes lit up, wasn¡¯t this the inevitable sharing of power that he had predicted?


    "For the kingdom to run efficiently, we need a good social structure. Normally l, this would happen naturally as we expand but certain news has made me push it to today.


    First of all, our caste system needs to be more well-defined. The wolves have already taken the Warrior caste for themselves and I believe they are best suited for it as they have shown."


    Hearing Kael¡¯s words, Bibi bowed, acknowledging the subtle praise.


    Then Kael spoke again, "But it¡¯s not enough."

 Chapter 102: Fox Merchant

    "...But that¡¯s not enough," Kael said.


    Bibi IV bowed his head, noticing the sternness in Kael¡¯s tone. He had a feeling that the king was pissed at something, he just didn¡¯t know what it was.


    "... All we have done is set up a good foundation, the warriors still lack in quality and quantity. With only a hundred or so wolves, it can be considered an army, but not a good one." Kael lamented.


    "Yes my King, I¡¯m aware of all this and have made efforts to improve it. All of the wolves except the cubs have already engaged in early mating rituals.


    The only problem is time, we wolves also need a year plus to grow into maturity, maybe two years even depending on our breed.


    I¡¯m afraid we will have to wait, unless¡­" Commander Bibi trailed off, unsure if he should say what he wanted to say.


    "Bibi, please, feel free to share any suggestions you have. That¡¯s why we¡¯re having the meeting in the first place." Kael said. He couldn¡¯t be the one coming up with all the ideas by himself, he just had to make sure their ideas aligned with his goals.


    "Okay, my King. I was thinking, why don¡¯t we try recruiting from beyond the kingdom?" Commander Bibi offered.


    "Recruiting?"


    "Yes. Some wolves have mentioned seeing other creatures, including other wolves, hanging around our borders.


    These creatures did not show any hostility and instead revealed looks of longing.


    I believe that a lot of animals want to join our kingdom. I just don¡¯t know why." Bibi IV said.


    Vixy who heard this could not help but scoff in her mind. Commander Bibi might not know but she knew.


    Almost every spirit-type creature in the forest knew and had communicated to as many as they could.


    Kael¡¯s work was just appealing to many of them who felt the need to surrender to someone powerful.


    "Very well then," Kael said after thinking about it, "Recruit only the wolves into the Warrior caste system. Building our army is most important right now.


    The recruitment phase will end after the one-month rest period ends."


    "I¡¯ll do as you wish, my King," Commander Bibi replied. The more wolf warriors they had, the more power they could have, so he was rather excited for this development.


    Kael then faced Vixy, "As for you, I have thought of the perfect caste for you and the foxes that may soon join us.


    The Fox Merchant Caste." He said.


    Vixy tilted her head, confused. "What does it mean?" She asked. She genuinely didn¡¯t know what a merchant was and Kael didn¡¯t expect her to know.


    "Merchants are people who engage in the business of buying and selling goods for profit. For example, they buy something at a certain price and then sell it somewhere else at a higher price.


    The job of the fox merchant is to boost trade in this kingdom¡¯s economy. You will be responsible for facilitating trade between two or more parties that want to sell or buy something.


    Basically, the fox merchant would act as a medium, or broker, between buyers and sellers.


    Let¡¯s say a wolf just hunted down two deer, and he wants to sell one, you can buy that deer from him and pay him in whatever he wants.


    Or you could wait until you¡¯ve sold the deer to another creature before paying the wolf. At the same time, you could take a percentage for yourself as a commission.


    In the future, most trades will be done with The Powder as a currency so trade by barter would not be common.


    This is also important as many animals wish to buy or sell something and would prefer if no one knew who they were. You could act as an agent that respects their privacy, only doing the job of a merchant for them then moving on." Kael explained.


    Vixy digested the words and was slowly understanding what Kael meant, "I think I understand the concept.


    But there¡¯s just one problem, what if other creatures decide to do the trading themselves without the fox merchants as mediums? Won¡¯t that slowly make the fox merchants irrelevant?" Vixy asked. As expected if someone was with her, she had already seen some flaws.


    "I am aware of that. That is why any trade commenced without a fox merchant must be reported and the perpetrators will be dealt with severely.


    I am not trying to run a full capitalist kingdom, it will be a mix of both and everyone having a role to play.


    The kingdom is to function like a machine, each part having a role to play in ensuring the efficiency of the machine. Any part that is no longer good will be discarded and replaced swiftly.


    With this, I have given the wolves military might and I have given the foxes economic power.


    As we find more creatures to fill in different caste systems, the kingdom will become more self-sufficient and a clear hierarchy would become present¡­" Kael could not help but raise his voice as he spoke.


    The eyes of Commander Bibi, Vixy, and Kursela widened. They could see a glimpse of the future Kael was planning and they were impressed as well as terrified.


    Kael¡¯s ability to create such long-term plans was truly outstanding. Kael wasn¡¯t just planning ahead, he was creating a system of his own, a system where every little thing worked together to achieve a grand goal.


    Every creature in this system would unknowingly work to increase Kael and the lion¡¯s might.


    "Do I get a responsibility?" Kursela asked. She was a bit excited to be part of this grand thing that Kael was planning and had difficulty hiding it.


    "You? The bears?" Kael thought deeply.


    He had wanted to give the bears a caste system similar to the wolf warriors but figured that would be counterproductive and their roles would overlap too much. His OCD would not allow that, everything had to be in order.


    "The bears will carry the Bear Priest Caste." Kael declared.


    "Bear priest?" Kursela asked, confused.


    "Yes, the job of a priest is to lead a cult-like following around a certain figure.


    A priest would evangelize and bring others closer to the supreme entity of worship, ensuring that they all stay in line.


    In short, the Bear Priest would be responsible for managing the cult of personality around me. With your help, the animals of this forest won¡¯t see me as just a special lion.


    No, they¡¯d see me as a divine entity sent down from the heavens to lead them. Can you manage that?"


    Kursela thought for a while, she still didn¡¯t understand what or how a bear priest was supposed to work. She didn¡¯t even know what a cult of personality was.


    What Kael was trying to do was create a religion around himself, just like the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs or the Roman emperors of earth.


    One could say that Kael had thought very well about this. He was bent on addressing anything that could affect his legitimacy to rule.


    "Truthfully, I don¡¯t understand it much," Kursela admitted.


    "It¡¯s okay, I didn¡¯t expect you to. I¡¯ll guide you through the role and you teach your cubs because one of them will eventually take over from you." Kael said.


    "Really?" Kursela asked.


    "Yes, I don¡¯t think you will be fit to lead any caste system. For now, you will be the stand-in leader of the future bear priests until I choose one of your cubs." Kael said bluntly, he didn¡¯t bother to mince his words.


    Kursela could understand what Kael meant, obviously, he didn¡¯t see her as a truly loyal person even though she could be capable. Kael wanted one of the cubs to grow into the role. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kursela looked down at her cubs, they had changed in the last weeks. One still had brown fur, just like hers. While the other had brown fur mixed with white fur, the white fur was slowly taking over and soon the bear cub would be entirely white, just like his father.


    Looking at them, Kael could already tell that the cubs had both awakened their bear hearts already, they just didn¡¯t have the adult body to show their power yet.


    "Anyways, beyond all that we have said, caste systems are nothing without caste members.


    Bibi will work on recruiting the wolves, Vixy, you are to look for foxes that are willing to join the fox merchant caste." Kael said.


    Vixy nodded, she knew that if she explained what was going on to other foxes, they would definitely be interested in joining.


    "As for you, Kursela. If other bears are anything like you I don¡¯t think we should try any recruiting. Instead, we will see if we can draw them to us, a bait if possible."


    Kursela kept her calm expression, Kael had subtly insulted her multiple times and she was upset, but she didn¡¯t forget who held the power to the life of her cubs. Simply because her loyalty to Kael was not genuine, Kael would be very tough with her.


    Kael and the ordained caste leaders continued their meeting, talking about many strategies that they wanted to employ. Kael was very attentive to their opinions, he knew that he couldn¡¯t think of everything.


    And indeed, their ideas helped him further refine his other plans. But even toward the end of the meeting, he still chose not to tell them about Darius.

 Chapter 103: Rising Aura

    Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye, marking the end of the one-month rest period.


    Today was bound to be a fateful day as within the cave of N¡¯bay¨¦, at its depths, three lionesses who had previously been still as a rock, began to stir awake.


    Three powerful auras erupted from the cave despite the protective runes doing their best to hide them.


    Kael stood outside the cave in his lion form, a confident smile on his handsome furry face.


    Behind him was Commander Bibi and behind Commander Bibi was an army of wolves. The wolf army behind them numbered almost one hundred and fifty.


    Commander Bibi had spent the last two weeks recruiting as many wolves as he could find. Although most of the wolves that wanted to join were abandoned elderly and young wolves, he was still able to find enough combat-ready wolves.


    The collective aura of the grey wolf army was terrifying and suffocating. There were three more tier 2 wolves, enhancing their collective strength.


    Each wolf had a fierce expressions on their face, they looked like they were ready to die for their king¡¯s cause.


    Kael stared at the cave entrance, his eyes burrowing into the darkness to see the rising mass of green fur. He wanted them to rest after their successful evolution, maybe even rest, but he couldn¡¯t allow that.


    Every moment he wasted, Darius drew closer to tier 4. He couldn¡¯t afford to waste more time, even if it meant the three lionesses being dissatisfied.


    Priya, who was usually meditating outside the cave entrance, had been moved to the six-tree magic clearing where she would stay with N¡¯bay¨¦. For the upcoming battles, it would be best if N¡¯bay¨¦ controlled everything with her magic trees.


    The magic runes protecting the cave went off, allowing the inside to be seen. There was no use in directing energy to this place for now.


    Thumping sounds could now be heard as well as scraping sounds. Those were the sounds of heavy footsteps as well as the sounds of sharp claws scraping the hard ground. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The first lioness to wake slowly revealed herself to the lions and wolves. Vibrant green fur unlike anything he had ever seen before, two antlers decorated her head and her aura was magnificent.


    Kael could feel his power over vegetation getting stronger as he looked at his mother, Nalii.


    Nalii was now huge. Whereas Kael was as tall as an adult man in his lion form, Nalii was slightly shorter but still huge nonetheless.


    Her antlers were bigger and thicker, looking like they could handle a lot of stress. The black antlers were decorated with green lines that reached from the base to the sharp tips.


    Her two eyes were now a dark shade of green and black, beautiful to look at.


    Nalii could not contain her power just yet and so it erupted forth and caused changes around her. The stone ground broke off as green vines and flowers shot out from the deep earth.


    The ground trembled as the stones were struggling to suppress something that was trying to come out.


    "Mother!" Kael called out, bringing Nalii to her right senses. Nalii¡¯s confused eyes traced Kael¡¯s golden form, then the wolves behind him.


    She could see Zabita, Ruda, Diane, and Olivia among the wolf army.


    Commander Bibi bowed his head, not daring to look Nalii in the eye. He felt like if he did, she would notice and immediately take action.


    However, Nalii revealed a warm and gentle expression as she started to recall everything before she went into slumber.


    She looked down at herself, observing how far her eyes were from the ground and how big her paws had become.


    More thumping steps were heard as two more lionesses walked out of the cave.


    Instantly, the temperature rose and the wolves opened their mouths and let down their tongues as they breathed heavily.


    The lioness that stood beside Nalii was of the same size as the green lioness. Her fur was lustrous and dark brown, like a regular lioness.


    In fact, apart from her huge size, she looked like a normal lioness unless one took a closer look.


    Her eyes were pitch black. No, they were empty. Those weren¡¯t eyes, they were mini black holes that twisted light around them.


    She blinked once and the mini black holes disappeared, replaced with regular lion eyes.


    Space twisted as she swished her tail excitedly. Unlike Nalii who seemed to have been confused at first, Katari didn¡¯t have this issue.


    As soon as she saw Kael, she revealed an excited expression and space began to crack around her as if to mirror her current emotional state.


    Something bad would have happened if Kael had not quickly sent her a calming telepathic message.


    Next to Katari, a lioness covered in raging flames stood and looked around with eyes that showed anticipation.


    Eidel¡¯s bright orange fur was now covered in hot flames, even her eyes let out tongues of flames. Every breath she took was followed by a heat wave.


    The heat she was releasing clashed with the vines Nalii was subconsciously drawing forth from the ground. The smell of burnt wood soon filled the air as the aura of the three lionesses spread far and wide.


    What was most interesting about Eidel was that she now had two tails. At the end of one tail was a bright red flame, on the other tail was a chilly white flame.


    "My consorts, hope you slept well?" Kael said and smiled, revealing his metallic gold teeth. He exchanged greetings with the three lionesses.


    To Katari, Nalii, and Eidel, they had simply closed their eyes for an instant before opening them. They were unaware of how much time had passed.


    "Sorry for this but we have to act now, we don¡¯t have time¡­" Kael said as he began explaining the plan to them.


    ######


    At the same time, Burdo and his five water lionesses watched all this from afar. Beyond the wolf army and Kael¡¯s large form, he was able to catch a glimpse of his mother, Nalii.


    He didn¡¯t understand how he felt within. He remembered that Nalii had grown tired of him and his greedy antics back then, the relationship between them wasn¡¯t a good one.


    He also saw Katari, that little cub of back then that had always stuck close to Kael. Once again, Burdo was filled with jealousy.


    To think that his little brother had access to all this while he had to settle for less.


    "Let¡¯s go," A calm soft male voice spoke into his head. Burdo turned his scaled head away from the gathering to look at who the voice came from.


    Before him stood a slightly larger than normal grey wolf who had a dim grey light flashing through his.


    "Duller, how long have they been in that cave?" Burdo asked.


    "About a month or so," Duller replied, to which Burdo sank into thought.


    "Please, Prince Burdo, let¡¯s go quickly. The king asked that you be at the river on time." Duller said hurriedly.


    Burdo sighed before nodding for Duller to escort them there. Burdo knew that Kael simply didn¡¯t want him anywhere near here.


    After all, in the midst of chaos, Burdo could act impulsively, thinking that he could get away with it.


    But then again, this particular wolf that Kael had tasked with escorting him to the river was quite strange.


    After the recruitment, Commander Bibi had managed to find spirit wolf so Duller¡¯s value had already dropped by a lot.


    This was dangerous for Duller.


    Both Duller and Burdo could recognize that treacherous look in each other¡¯s eyes. Only a thief would know another thief at first glance.


    But Kael was just as smart as N¡¯bay¨¦, he should already know that these two creatures were not to be trusted, yet he purposefully ordered both of them to work together.


    To Duller, this was a scheme, a trap. Kael was looking for a good reason to get rid of him and he would not fall for it. He just needed to collude with Burdo to betray King Kael and that would be the end for him. At least, that¡¯s what his brain told him.


    To Burdo, this was a test, not a trap. This wolf that acted and moved like a ghost with shifty eyes was clearly planning a mutiny. Maybe, Kael was giving him a chance to catch the traitor to show his loyalty. At least, that¡¯s what his brain was telling him.


    What Duller was perhaps intentionally ignoring was that Kael didn¡¯t need to have a reason to get rid of him. Kael could kill Duller today and no one would dare challenge him.


    And what Burdo failed to understand was that Kael could already catch a traitor without the help of another potential traitor.


    Perhaps, this was a test, or it was a trap. Only Kael knew what was going on in that mind of his.


    They were simply going to the river under the excuse that in case the battle reached the waters, they would be able to handle it.


    Neither Burdo nor Duller believed that excuse.


    They had not gone far when a terrifying spacial wave spread out from Katari so fast that it reached them in an instant and pushed them forward.


    Things were about to get rough.

 Chapter 104: The Taste Of Meat

    In one of the caves at the foot of the mountain.


    Vixy walked around, taking stock of all the carcasses that had been stored inside this cave.


    Her three red and white fluffy tails swished around beautifully, adding to her foxy aura. Her yellow eyes darted around, counting the deer corpse, the hog corpse, the rabbit corpse, and so on.


    With her were fourteen other foxes of different colors. Some were white as snow, some red just like her, and some were a mix of different colors.


    All of them were counting the stocked-up meat and making sure that they were in order and not having any deficiencies.


    In the last two weeks, Vixy had gotten used to her role as a fox merchant. Most of her trade was between the wolf warriors and other predators beyond the kingdom.


    Usually, wolves didn¡¯t have a habit of wasting food, but who knew even wolves had preferences?


    With the help of the foxes, wolves were able to trade deer meat or moose meat for something else like bison-who usually lived at the edge of the forest- or fish.


    Wolves were now able to have a more balanced diet with the foxes helping them exchange their hunt for something less available in their area.


    In return, Vixy would keep a small portion. For example, she could keep an entire hind leg or two out of fifteen fishes.


    With this type of profit, Vixy had no problem recruiting other foxes to join the caste system. To her, this was the best caste system among all the other caste systems.


    Her hunting was minimal these days and her combat activities usually involved defending her stash of meat which was also minimal with the assistance of wolf bodyguards.


    ¡¯Ivan would not have been able to adapt,¡¯ She would tell herself once in a while, completely disregarding how much Ivan had loved her to the point he was willing to sacrifice himself to save her.


    "Madam Vixy, would this stash be enough for the wolves?" One of the white foxes came up to Vixy and asked.


    "For all the wolves, no. But many of them are bound to die today, so it should be enough, maybe." She replied with a thoughtful gaze.


    "Madam, I still think we should have stashed up fish as well." The white fox complained. It seemed like the relationship between him and Vixy was quite good.


    "Fish can get smelly fast, and besides, we¡¯re doing this not for benefits," Vixy said then walked away, she didn¡¯t want to talk about the details.


    She had actually presented this idea to Kael who in all his planning had not thought of this. Even kings like Kael could overlook things like this easily.


    So technically, storing meat for the wolf warriors for them to recover their strength after the battle was Vixy¡¯s idea. It¡¯s just that she was not willing to tell the foxes that it was her idea, at the same time, she didn¡¯t want to give credit to Kael.


    It was better if she let their imagination run wild.


    The white fox sighed as he saw Vixy walk away. He has been trying to get close to her, seeing that she has no partner. In the eyes of a fox like him, Vixy would be considered very beautiful and captivating.


    Not to mention having a relationship with the caste leader would instantly raise his status in the kingdom.


    For some reason, Vixy had kept a distance from him, as she had subconsciously put a mental wall against anything concerning romance.


    His two white tails flared up as he spat a beam of ice at the stacks of meat, freezing them.


    After this, they were not required to join the battle unless absolutely necessary. They could provide combat support from the side but that was it, besides, the foxes had no intention of joining the battle anyway.


    Just then, as the foxes were rounding up their operation, there was a soft booming sound, followed by a terrifying spatial wave that swept through the cave, passing their walls and nearly pushing the meat down. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The fur on the foxes were pushed to the side by the spatial wave. Vixy¡¯s eyes dilated as she remembered the existence of a certain crazy lioness from the past.


    "Nobody leaves this cave unless you want to die!" She hurriedly ordered.


    The foxes were confused but they still obeyed the words of their caste leader.


    "Quick seal the cave with your ice!" Vixy ordered in a panicked manner.


    The three white foxes present were puzzled, what was making their caste leader so scared?


    They released their aura and controlled their ice powers to freeze up the entrance of the cave.


    #####


    Meanwhile at the top of the mountain.


    This place now looked like it was about to receive a projection of the god of lightning.


    The sky had turned dark and crimson red lightning continuously shot down from the dark clouds.


    The cave protecting Darius had long been destroyed and even Darius¡¯s body could no longer be seen amidst the rain of red lightning.


    Because of what was happening at the top of the mountain, the whole sky above the mountain was dark, casting the mountain into a melancholic vibe.


    The stony ground was scorched and filled with craters. Little pieces of hot rocks were constantly flying out of the area where the lightning bolts were raining.


    Isaiah, who was in his humanoid form, stood some distance away from the lightning rain with a calm expression. He was here to guard his friend and congratulate him on his successful evolution.


    None of the flying hot rocks could touch him as they all bounced off after hitting an invisible barrier.


    As Isaiah stood there with his hands behind his back, taking a noble pose, he looked more human than most creatures in their humanoid forms.


    Unlike the lions or wolves, who kept their tails and ears in their humanoid forms, Isaiah only had a head full of combed-back feathers instead of hair.


    *WHOOM!*


    Suddenly, a spatial wave spread from the bottom of the mountain in an omnidirectional manner. The wave reached almost every part of the mountain, including the peak.


    There was a slight change in the lightning rain intensity before it became stable again.


    "Hmm," Isaiah turned around, his sharp eyes digging through the atmosphere so that he could see the perpetrator.


    "Darius, let me quickly take care of this disturbance before it¡¯s too late," Isaiah said to which he received no response.


    He took one step, then another, and another, then he leaped off the edge.


    The air brushed against his body and scattered his feathered head. His eyes remained locked on the source of that spatial wave. That spatial wave was so strange, even he wouldn¡¯t be able to do something like that of that scale, at least, he didn¡¯t learn how to.


    This didn¡¯t mean he was scared though, just curious.


    As he fell, his legs transformed into crane legs, and white and black feathers grew out of his skin. His arms elongated and morphed into large wings.


    His nose and mouth fused together to form a long yellow beak as his head transformed into a crane¡¯s head.


    His diving speed increased exponentially as space began to twist around his body. Within a second, he reached the mountain foot.


    *BOOM!*


    His two feet landed on the ground with so much force that he sent rocks flying, breaking the hard stone ground.


    Isaiah waved his large wings, clearing away the dust with one flap.


    He looked around, his eyes scanning the vicinity. He saw nothing but an empty cave, although there were signs that this place had a lot of creatures present a few moments ago.


    "You must be the lioness that killed the porcupine that day. You are very talented, I must say." Isaiah said, even though he could not see who he was talking to.


    He didn¡¯t receive a response.


    "You just evolved right? I can feel it. We would be good friends in other circumstances¡­" Isaiah slashed his wing at the cave.


    A transparent spatial blade shot out and divided the cave into two. The transparent blade did not stop until it was deep into the mountain.


    Isaiah immediately froze up when he felt a strange aura appear behind him.


    He turned around to see a large lioness, just shy of six feet, sitting down casually a few meters from him.


    Isaiah realized that this lioness could have been there all this time and he had not noticed until she released her aura.


    "You," Isaiah¡¯s telepathic voice was subtle.


    Katari tired her head to the side as she observed this large bed. ¡¯I¡¯ve never tasted bird meat before.¡¯ was what went through her mind.


    She didn¡¯t see the need to respond to Isaiah, after all, who in their right mind would have a dialogue with what they considered food?


    The two of them stared at each other, with different thoughts passing through their heads.


    Then Katari stood up¡­

 Chapter 105: Testosterone And Adrenaline

    Like a flood of grey, the wolves ran up the sides of the mountain, jumping from one flat surface to the other.


    Kael and Nalii followed from the rear at a slow pace while Eidel and Commander Bibi led from the front.


    *BOOM!*


    The sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed out and the ground trembled slightly.


    Kael looked back to see a cloud of dust covering the area where N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s cave was. He squinted his eyes as his vision made out the faint shadow that was in the center of the dust cloud.


    Two large white wings flapped heavily, spreading the dust away and allowing Kael to see the person there.


    "He fell for it, that¡¯s good." Kael said as his paws thumped heavily on the ground, "He probably thinks Katari would be unfamiliar with her new evolved body which would give him an advantage.


    Katari doesn¡¯t need to win, she just needs to prevent him from getting back to the mountain peak."


    Nalii also looked back to see the giant bird but she immediately turned her head away, not bothered. Katari was the last person she was worried about at this moment.


    "What if that Darius guy reaches tier 4 before we reach the top?" Nalii asked. Her power was growing and the only reason she hadn¡¯t burst out yet was her firm control of her anxiety.


    To her words, Kael responded by shaking his head, causing his mane to swish around. Nalii was able to see two red-capped mushrooms tied to his golden locks.


    Her green eyes locked on those mushrooms and she understood where that spicy smell had been coming from. She could finally sense the faint power coming from it.


    For some reason, she couldn¡¯t sense it previously when it was hidden under Kael¡¯s mane.


    "What is that? I feel a very aggressive vibe from its structure." She asked.


    "I don¡¯t know, I first saw it through the perspective of an observation rune. I saw how it was able to make an ordinary rabbit gain strength that didn¡¯t match its tier.


    The rabbit suffered and I never got to check if the after-effects were permanent.


    Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to experiment as N¡¯bay¨¦ only found these early yesterday morning." Kael said with a determined glint in his eyes.


    "Son, that is very dangerous!" Nii raised her voice as she stiffened her limbs and halted her steps.


    Kael stopped moving and looked back at her, frowning, "Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s only a trump card. I won¡¯t use it if it¡¯s not necessary."


    Kael was about to turn back so he could catch up with the army before they met their first foe.


    "KAEL!" Nalii shouted, stomping her left front paw on the ground so hard that it cracked.


    Kael frowned, confused at the way Nalii was suddenly behaving, "What¡¯s wrong?"


    "Is this necessary?" Nalii asked, reluctance in her eyes.


    "What do you mean?" Kael was even more confused.


    "You¡¯re risking your life for what? A mountain? You¡¯re already a king, what else could you want that you have to risk your life to get it?" Nalii asked, her tone of pleading.


    Kael¡¯s expression relaxed, "Now is not the right time to be having this conversation, Mother. I have prepared for too long for this day¡­"


    "... Why can¡¯t we go back and be like a normal lion pride? Must we be¡­like this?" Nalii pressed on. She could feel the berserk mixture within that mushroom.


    "A normal lion pride?" Kael nearly choked as Jin¡¯s face surfaced in his mind. He shivered.


    He shook his head and gave his mother a scary look, "Mother, I know that you¡¯re saying all this because of last-minute worries and the suddenness for you.


    But if you mess this up, I won¡¯t be kind."


    And with that, Kael turned around and pursued after the army, reaching them in a few seconds.


    Nalii gritted her teeth angrily. As a Vegetation Lioness or Veggie Lioness, it was in her nature to be passive and shy away from violence if it wasn¡¯t necessary.


    This trait became more enhanced now that she had become a tier 3 lioness. She was the only one who saw whatever was happening today as unnecessary.


    Unfortunately, Nalii spoke for a few but not for all. Kael would follow through irrespective, Nalii had not seen what he had seen. She had not lived those memories like he had, so he didn¡¯t expect her to understand.


    With no choice, Nalii ran after her son with the sole intention of keeping him safe, her overprotective motherly instincts mysteriously coming back all of a sudden.


    Eidel who ran at the front, leaving a paw trail of fire behind her, reached the first enemies.


    Two gigantic lizards crawled out of the corners of large boulders, their long tongues slipping out of their mouth threateningly.


    The two lizards were at least four meters long with a long and powerful tail each. Each had bright green scales with two black patterns on their backs.


    Hey, both emitted an aura similar yet different from Nalii. Whereas Nalii¡¯s aura was more flowery, the lizards reeked of toxicity and emitted a pungent smell.


    "Venomous lizards." Commander Bibi said but he didn¡¯t stop running, that would lower the morale of the army.


    Thankfully, the fearless Eidel was in front of him and had no intention of stopping.


    Like a bright yellow star to light up the dark atmosphere, Eidel burst out with her power, turning into a huge ball of flames that shot forward fast.


    Eidel was ready the moment she awoke, she needed something to sink her burning claws into quickly and she had seen one.


    *BOOM!*


    The lizards had just come out of their corner and were getting ready to react to the incoming mass of wolves when a flaming lioness smashed into them without any prior convo.


    One of the lizards jumped to the side hurriedly, escaping with a slight hot brush. Its companion was not so lucky though.


    Eidel rushed the other lizard into the mountainside, breaking and melting all the rocks obstructing them until she forged a cave into the mountainside.


    *SCREEEEECH!*


    The sound of the lizard screeching reached the sharp ears of the wolves which only served to boost their morale.


    Even Commander Bibi was so affected by this bold act of Eidel that he found himself suicidally rushing for the second lizard, his eyes glinting with the desire for a glorious battle.


    The giant green lizard was having none of this as it turned around and sent Bibi flying with one swipe of its tail.


    The sight of their commander flying through the air with a lost expression did not deter the wolves who were already upon the lizard though. The tail swipe just gave some wolves the opportunity to jump into the body of the lizard. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ruda and Zabita were there, providing shocking attacks and sharp claw strikes as much as they could. Even then, one or two wolves were scratched by the poisonous claws or bitten.


    Casualties had already begun to appear.


    Commander Bibi was about to land hard on the ground when a mass of vines came up and caught him.


    "There are more battles to be fought, it¡¯s too early to die," He heard Kael¡¯s voice as the massive golden body ran past him and continued up the mountainside.


    Nalii ran past him too, but it was clear she was not the one who saved him, it was King Kael.


    For some reason, Bibi IV felt his blood pumping and his eyes dilated.


    *AWOOOOOO!*


    He released a deep guttural howl as his body expanded and his muscles stretched.


    The majority of the wolves who weren¡¯t fighting instantly understood what that howl meant. Following Commander Bibi, they ran after Kael and Nalii with all their might, barking like rabid dogs that would bite anything their master frowned at.


    Even they had fallen to the mysterious spirit of War.


    There was no prior motivational speech, no briefing. Just testosterone and adrenaline flying around added with an enemy in sight.


    Bibi and the rest of the wolves followed after their king, going after the next enemy.


    Meanwhile, Kael was thinking of how he could preserve his strength until he reached the top of the mountain.


    As they ran up the mountain, they encountered their next foe.


    Far above them, Kael and the rest could make out the faint figure of a colossal-sized mountain goat, looking down at them calmly.


    Its hooves held firmly to the rocks, and its large curved horns released an earthly glow.


    "I¡¯ll take this one," Nalii said as she licked up speed and rushed forward to confront the large mountain goat.


    Seeing his challenger, the mountain goat snorted in disdain. He jumped down, leaping from rock to rock with his two curved horns pointed at Nalii.


    Nalii matched his intent, aiming her large antlers at the mountain goat.


    *BOOM!*


    With a flash of yellow and green light, the two figures collided and another booming sound echoed across the mountain.

 Chapter 106: Booming Sounds

    The consecutive booming sounds that heralded the dawn of a new time in the forest scared the piss out of so many animals.


    All the creatures close to the mountain who weren¡¯t supposed to be part of the battle began to retreat quickly.


    Everyone with a bit of intelligence and a good memory already knew that this day would eventually come, and now it was here.


    Kursela hid in the cave, ignoring the booming sounds and using her body to shield her cubs. She couldn¡¯t attend this battle, not with her cubs on the line. Thankfully, Kael allowed her to sit the battle out.


    She initially wanted to escape from the mountain but Kael didn¡¯t let her. To him, it was better she died defending a part of the kingdom than running away from it entirely.


    With Kael¡¯s ruthlessness, Kursela should have never expected Kael to let her go, not when she was raising a future caste leader.


    #####


    The breeze ruffled Isaiah¡¯s feathers as the booming sounds echoed from the mountain.


    His eyes narrowed dangerously, searching for the invisible lioness. At the same time, he wondered what was going on that was causing that noise.


    He swiftly moved his head to the side, dodging a transparent claw slash. Some feathers were cut off from his cheeks but he remained unharmed.


    Following that momentum, Isaiah kicked out, slamming his talons at where he assumed Katari to be.


    His feet slammed hard into the ground, cracking it and sending rocks flying. He did not pause his attack even as his legs missed its target.


    Like following a movement sequence, he spun on his leg with his sharp wings spread out like fan blades.


    Multiple spatial blades shot out as Isaiah spun fast, his blades hitting every place within sight.


    Katari appeared out of thin air, a growl escaping her mouth. She teleported from side to side, dodging the fast-moving blades with acrobatic efficiency.


    Every time she teleported, she got closer to the spinning bird, her teeth bared and her claws ready to tear him apart.


    But then, a slight twist from Isaiah¡¯s wing and a spatial blade made a surprisingly uncalculated curve and headed straight for Katari who had just teleported.


    Time seemed to slow to a crawl for Katari as everything moved at a snail¡¯s pace in her vision. She initiated a teleportation again but was a bit too late.


    She appeared a few meters away and dropped to the ground. Her shoulder had a long deep gash that had blood flowing down like a red waterfall, dying her lustrous fur.


    Isaiah stopped spinning and the blades stopped flying out. His eyes trailed Katari, analyzing what had happened.


    Then, Katari teleported again, instantly appearing beside Isaiah¡¯s large head and sending a fatal claw strike at his eyes. Yet, Isaiah seemed to be expecting this as he waved his wing and sent out a spatial wave to push her away.


    His reaction was instantaneous, almost as if he had been able to predict where she would appear.


    Katari used her claws to grip the stone ground, preventing herself from sliding away.


    She lunged again at Isaiah, briefly teleporting from his front and appearing behind him. She swiped at his legs but Isaiah was already flying upwards.


    He looked down, a look of disdain on his avian face as he flapped his wings and released powerful gusts of wind.


    "Just like that!" Isiah announced as he dropped down fast on the unprepared Katari.


    His talons curved around Katari¡¯s neck and he pressed down on her with his leg power. Cracks spread on the ground as Katari struggled to free herself from this deadly grasp.


    "You aren¡¯t as unpredictable as I thought," Isaiah said as the space around him began to solidify. It looked like the air was turning to solid glass.


    Katari tried to teleport but there would only be a cracking sound. She was unable to teleport as Isaiah was actively locking her down with his own spatial powers.


    "With enough time, I was able to understand how your teleportation worked. It¡¯s not that special, quite similar to my portal, just more efficient energy-wise." Isaiah muttered, he looked down at Katari like he was looking at a lab rat.


    Katari did it say anything, she continued trying to claw her way out of the hold. Space was beginning to vibrate dangerously as the two opposing space forces ground against each other.


    "You are strong, you are talented, you are exceptional. But you work with that Kael of a lion, you must die." Isaiah began to tighten the hold on Katari¡¯s neck.


    This was the source of Isaiah¡¯s confidence and disdain. He wasn¡¯t a delusional bird who thought he was better than everyone, that was hardly the case. He was able to recognize Katari¡¯s exceptionality just from sensing her aura.


    He knew that she was talented and that was one of the reasons wanted to quickly eliminate her as soon as possible.


    She may be strong but he had something she didn¡¯t, experience. Isiah had been in tier 3 probably long before Katari was even born, the techniques he had picked up over the years could easily allow him to overpower an average space-powered creature.


    Katari might be crazy and unpredictable, but Isaiah would just counter with techniques.


    Now that he saw her here alone, away from Kael, after one month, he wouldn¡¯t let the opportunity go. He wasn¡¯t bothered that she was now tier 3, it was only expected.


    As Isaiah tightened his hold on Katari¡¯s neck, sinking his long black talons slowly into her flesh, she couldn¡¯t help but say, "You caused this lioness, you brought this up on yourself.


    You should have stayed hidden, maybe you could have been a match after some time. Unfortunately, you had to draw my attention¡­"


    Isiah paused as his mind started drawing patterns he hoped were not through. He looked at Katari closely, particularly at her eyes. He noticed that despite all her struggles, she had a playful look in her eyes.


    It was like¡­she was not bothered.


    There was another booming sound as a large amount of rocks were blasted off the side of the mountain.


    Isiah turned his head back, almost wringing his long neck. His eyes widened as the space around his eye twisted and expanded.


    He saw the strange hot glow and the melting rocks. He saw some lionesses and wolves battling a giant green lizard with so much vigor.


    He saw two streaks of energy speeding through the mountainside, one green and one earthly yellow. He saw an army of wolves rushing over the mountain, spreading out in packs and searching for their next enemies.


    Then he saw a magnificent golden lion, his mane ruffling in the wind and his metallic golden claws shining bright. He saw the golden lion scale the rocks, covering a large distance with a single stride.


    At this rate, he would reach the mountain top in no time¡­


    "No!" Isaiah realized that he had fallen for bait, he should have known seeing that Katari was alone which wasn¡¯t normal for any lioness. He was so frightened by this realization that he mindlessly released Katari and jumped into the air, flapping his wings and attempting to pursue after Kael.


    The space hold was removed as a circular portal appeared above him, if he entered this portal, he would be able to instantly appear at the mountaintop and defend Darius.


    Katari realized that Isaiah had already discovered the plot seeing that he was about to leave.


    But if this big bird left, that would be troublesome for Kael. A look of determination appeared in her eyes, she would hold down this obstacle even if it cost her her life.


    Using her powerful hind legs, she leaped after Isaiah fast enough to bite onto one of his legs. And in the process, she followed the big bird into the portal, bringing with her the most terrifying spatial shock she could muster.


    *CRACK!*


    *SHATTER!*


    The unmistakable sound of glass shattering filled the ears of all who were in the mountain.


    #######


    Amidst the chaos, the screeches of one of the venomous lizards came to a halt after it had been burnt to death.


    After some time, a humanoid figure stumbled out of the melting cave. A young woman with long curly reddish-orange hair and fair skin walked out of the hot rubbles. She had two red lion ears beside her head and two lion tails behind her.


    Molten rocks slid off her hot body. She had claw marks all over her body and the smell of boiling venom followed her around.


    This humanoid woman shared a resemblance to Kael in his human form. Too bad, no one was attentive enough to appreciate her mind-blowing curvaceous naked body.


    The humanoid woman who was none other than Eidel in her humanoid form looked around. She saw her sister and her cousin, Ruda and Zabita, fighting the other venomous lizards with the wolves.


    From the looks of it, the lizard would soon get overwhelmed by the number of enemies, she didn¡¯t need to intervene.


    She flexed her arm, assessing the injuries she got from fighting that lizard. On a normal day, venomous or not, most lizards were no match for lions. These lizards were strong though.


    Eidel¡¯s fiery red eyes scanned around, looking for her next victim. She still had a lot of heat that she needed to release, but now, she wanted to conserve some energy, just in case while also testing out her humanoid form.


    Suddenly, her eyes caught the silhouette of a four-legged creature sneaking away in the far distance.


    The humanoid woman immediately burst into flames as she chased. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 107: Nalii Versus Mountain Goat

    While Eidel was chasing after the silhouette that appeared to be a massive squirrel, a discussion was going on in the cave the foxes were hiding in.


    "Madam Vixy, we need to be out there to collect the loot. Those wolves won¡¯t be able to think in that direction with all the chaos around them, at least not until the battle is done." A female red fox with a fiery aura and flames dancing in her two tails said.


    "We¡¯ll wait until the fight is over then," Vixy said. She didn¡¯t seem to consider the words being spoken to her.


    "B-but Madam Vixy, by that time, a lot of loot would be damaged. The high-tier hearts could lose their effectiveness with all the fighting and could even get damaged." The fiery red fox pressed on.


    The other foxes looked on with anticipation and anxiety. Just the thought of so much valuable war loot being destroyed made them shake.


    "So, you want to risk your life just to secure loot? Why do you even care? You guys dare not use anything without the king¡¯s permission." Vixy shook her head and said.


    The booming sounds echoed everywhere and seeped into the cave. They could feel the residual auras washed past them and some of them had the fur in their body stand on end as they imagined what was happening outside.


    "Do you hear that?" Vixy asked, "None of you can survive a blow strong enough to create those sounds. You are too greedy." She proclaimed. Only she knew why she didn¡¯t want to leave the cave.


    She was scared of Katari and for a good reason. She wasn¡¯t even that scared of N¡¯bay¨¦ but that was because she was usually cold, Vixy knew what to expect.


    Vixy was scared of the enemies the army and Kael were facing now but that fear wasn¡¯t comparable to her fear for Katari.


    Back then, Katari had been what she would consider a seasonal bully. Every encounter with Katari always felt like crossing paths with death.


    One wrong move and Katari could take her seriously and attack her. One could never expect what Katari would do especially if Kael was not present.


    Vixy felt more comfortable here in the cave than being outside with that sociopathic lioness. In her opinion, anybody who didn¡¯t fear Katari just hadn¡¯t spent time with her.


    Vixy wasn¡¯t alone in her fears. Every other lioness in the Ol-mytee pride was wary of Katari, especially N¡¯bay¨¦ who had acknowledged just how dangerous and unstable the lioness could be.


    "Madam Vixy," The white fox that had been trying to get close to Vixy spoke up at his time, "It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t care about our life.


    Look at it this way, if those loots get damaged, King Kael would surely get angry. And once he gets angry, he may take that anger out on us who have made ourselves useless during this battle."


    "Nonsense, we are guarding the meat stash, how is that useless? Besides, do you dare accuse the king of anger issues?" Vixy¡¯s nose flared as she realized that her position was being challenged.


    She had been too available to these foxy guys and now they could repeatedly talk back at her when she had given an order. They no longer respected her authority.


    The ears of the white fox folded to the back as he shrunk his head, "I dare not Madam Vixy.


    It¡¯s just that we would get credit and rewards for this work and I know that King Kael would surely not be blind to our efforts." The white fox hurriedly spat out a complex word trap that prevented Vixy from responding immediately.


    She could insist that the foxes would not go out to collect the loot but that would imply that she was preventing them from pursuing the credits and rewards.


    And if she insisted, it would look like she didn¡¯t believe in Kael¡¯s ability to reward the foxes for their efforts.


    Vixy wished he could tell them that it was not really a good idea to get Kael to pay attention to them, but then she relented.


    "You can go, I¡¯ll stay here to watch the stash. All loot must be brought back to this cave." She commanded after which the foxes revealed satisfied expressions.


    The white fox unleashed his power as the ice wall black the cave entrance dissolved. Without wasting too much time, the foxes all walked out of the cave cautiously, looking around for any danger.


    "Thanks," The white fox said as he turned back to look at Vixy, only for him to be shocked at what he saw.


    Vixy¡¯s eyes were narrowed dangerously until they formed fine slits. Her expression was cold and although she didn¡¯t bare any claws or fangs, her killing intent was felt.


    "Let this be the last time you challenge my authority. The next time it happens, only King Kael would be able to save you from death, and I highly doubt he would do that." Vixy said with venom laced in her words.


    Her spirit energy surged as the feeling of fear was imprinted into the mind of the white fox. The white fox could only take steps back cautiously while working hard to keep his expression straight.


    "Go!" She ordered. The white fox turned and scurried out of the cave with his colleague.


    "It seems I¡¯ll have to manually reach their place¡­" Vixy said to herself as her tails swished around and her killing intent died down.


    ######


    Nalii crashed into the mountainside, sliding down and breaking off some rocks in the process.


    Her antlers glowed green and multiple vines shot out of the mountainside to catch her, preventing her from falling.


    She balanced her body before jumping down to one of the flat parts of the mountain.


    She was lucky as just after she moved down, a colossal mountain goat rammed its head into the mountainside where she had been.


    Nalii¡¯s antlers glowed again as she released an angry roar. Vines with the width of a human head broke out of the ground and shot straight at the mountain goat.


    The hooves of the mountain goat shone with an earthly yellow glow as it ran vertically on the mountainside without falling over, defying gravity.


    The mountain goat ran vertically, evading all the thick vines that shot after him. The mountain goat hen stomped his front hoof, causing a slab of rock to shoot out of the mountainside and head straight for Nalii.


    Thick thorny vines rose up, stronger than before. They wiped out like a leather bullwhip that was being handled by a madman, they wiped the rock slab until it broke to pieces just before it reached Nalii.


    Then Nalii dodged to the side as a spike sharply rose out of the ground. She lunged after the mountain goat all of a sudden, surprising the goat.


    Her leap launched her farther than any ordinary lion could ever achieve, latching on to the rock with her black claws.


    However, she was sent back down when another slab shot out and hit her square on her tummy.


    The mountain goat didn¡¯t give her any chance to recover, he rushed her fallen body and rammed his head into her side.


    In pain, Nalii was sent sliding across the rough floor until she hit a boulder and cracked it in the process.


    She opened her eyes to see the mountain goat charging at her again, his horns glowing and aimed at her.


    Her limbs burst with mysterious vitality as the wounds on her body began to close up. Her eyes dilated and she stood up immediately with all her energy recovered.


    She received the goat horns with her antlers. There was a loud boom as the two hard heads fought for dominance. Nalii swiftly lashed out with her large paw, drawing three red lines across the goat¡¯s face.


    They might both have horns but for Nalii, that was just a bonus, her claws and fangs were still as useful as before.


    The mountain goat had been used to the head bashes and vine attack that he had not been able to predict the claw attack and was surprised.


    Nalii lunged again, intending to sink her fangs into the neck of the mountain goat, she still had to go and assist Kael.


    The mountain goat retracted his head as an earthen wall rose in between them. Thick vines appeared and whipped down on the wall, breaking it into pieces.


    Nalii saw that the mountain goat had made some distance between them and it currently had a wrathful expression on his face.


    The three red lines across his face were now oozing red blood.


    The fighting styles of the two of them were somewhat similar yet different. The mountain goat was extremely confrontational and didn¡¯t shy away from getting close.


    But when he used his earth powers, it was mostly like a form of support and not as a direct fighting style.


    Nalii was less confrontational and would prefer to use her vegetation powers. She might have antlers and claws but that didn¡¯t mean she would put her life in the like to preserve the lion fighting tradition.


    The mountain goat scoffed, and then he slammed his front hoove into the ground. This was followed by a mini earthquake. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then the ground began to break apart as large cubes of earth cut out of the ground and rose up to the sky.


    Nalii looked at the floating cubes with bewilderment. The mountain goat stomped its other front hoove and activated another power.


    Gravity changed subtly as all the cubs shot after Nalii like bullets escaping dir barrels.

 Chapter 108: Preparations Were Made

    Hundreds of earth cubes were upon Nalii, soon to crush her to meatpaste if she didn¡¯t act fast.


    Her energy rose and her visible green aura became stronger. Her antlers glowed a deep and bright green color as her powers seeped into the ground, searching for whatever piece of nature it could find beneath all these rocks.


    The ground began to quake for a second time and the part of the mountain which they were standing on now had multiple cracks spreading around it.


    When the earth cubes were a few meters from turning Nalii to meat mush, thick vines the width of a human head shot off the ground like ground snakes.


    These vines were greenish-brown and had thorns on them. There was something different about these vines compared to the others of before, these vines had pink flowers on their bodies.


    The vines rose to form a strong wall in front of Nalii. The cubes slammed into the vine wall continuously, damaging it repeatedly but not as fast as it was repairing itself.


    The mountain goat snorted in anger, he wasn¡¯t like other herbivores that would run away from their predators on sight. No, he had to kill this one, just like had done to all that came before her.


    He was about to stomp his front hoof again when a streak of blue electricity hit him without any warning.


    The mountain goat spasmed, feeling the shocking power trying to ravage his body. ¡¯Where did that come from?¡¯ He wondered as he desperately tried to redirect the electric power into the ground.


    By the time he regained focus, he saw large vines already lashing at him. He created an earth wall however, the wall was loose and not as strong as he would have wanted because of how fast he created it.


    The wall only survived two vine strikes before it was shattered by the third vine. The fourth vine strike hit the mountain goat square in the chest, sending him flying until he crashed into the mountainside.


    Right after the body of the mountain goat touched the mountainside, dozens of slabs burst out of the mountainside and flew at Nalii.


    However, they were all whipped away to rubble by the vines surrounding Nalii. Meanwhile, two peculiar stones zipped through the air until they hovered in front of the hole the goat made after crashing into the wall.


    Electricity surged from the two stones as blue electric arcs burst out and surged into the hole.


    "MEEEAAAAAAH!"


    The deep bleats of the goat reverberated across the vicinity.


    Nalii watched, astounded. One hoof in front after the other, the goat struggled and stepped out of the hole.


    Despite the constant stream of electricity barraging his body, he still resisted as much as possible to take more steps forward.


    His muscles bulged and his curved horns glowed, he seemed ready to unleash all his power but Nalii knew that this was just him redirecting his power inward to keep himself alive.


    Her horns glowed as she readied herself to finish off this goat.


    "This one is stubborn, let¡¯s leave him for Kael." Nalii heard the voice of N¡¯bay¨¦ and paused her actions.


    Indeed, Kael would be interested in someone like this. And if he wasn¡¯t interested, he could just kill the goat for the heart.


    "Quick, Kael is almost at the top!" N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s voice was suddenly filled with stress.


    Nalii¡¯s eyes narrowed and she immediately burst out with speed. She jumped on the wall, using many vines to hold her in place as she scaled the mountain vertically.


    The mountain goat could only look on as the predator left him to these mysterious stones.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦?" The mountain goat muttered telepathically, remembering where he had seen the magic markings before.


    "Sorry, it¡¯s nothing personal." Was the last thing the goat heard as more magic stones flew up the mountain, hundreds of them with electricity brimming within.


    Not just the goat, but other inhabitants in the mountain had looks of dread as these numerous magic stones descended on them.


    The ordinary wolves who had to deal with the high-level creatures with no advantage other than numbers felt like a weight had been lifted off them. The arrival of these stones eased their burden and made the fights easier.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ and Kael prepared well, perhaps, too well.


    #######


    As soon as Burdo came close to the river, he prepared to jump.


    "Wait!" Duller shouted.


    Burdo stopped, he turned around to Duller, having an anxious expression. "What is it?" Burdo asked with a frown.


    "What about me, I can¡¯t swim?" Duller said.


    "Is this a joke?" Burdo asked. How was Duller not being able to swim supposed to concern him?


    "You¡¯re a wolf. Isn¡¯t it your duty to serve the kingdom on the battlefield?" Burdo asked.


    "Hehe," Duller smiled in a goofily, "Actually¡­"


    "Enough," Burdo said. This was a deserter, the kind that ran away from a fight. Burdo didn¡¯t judge since he and this wolf thought alike.


    "I don¡¯t think you necessarily need to enter the water though. After all, we don¡¯t know if those piranhas will come back?" Duller said.


    Burdo frowned harder, "Do you think this Prince is afraid of some fish?" He said.


    His five water lionesses had already entered the water and were about to swim away.


    "Uhm, Prince Burdo, can I ask a question?" Duller asked.


    Burdo raised his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t know why he was even having this conversation with this treacherous-looking wolf. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t as guarded as he was before to this wolf.


    "What question?" He replied, oblivious to the faint grey light coming from Duller¡¯s eyes.


    "Where were you and your lionesses coming from that day that you were chased by Piranhas?" Duller asked.


    However, Duller did not get a reply, rather he received a super fast claw strike to his face.


    "INSOLENT!" Burdo thundered. His actions caught the attention of the water lionesses who looked at them curiously.


    Duller reeled back in shock. He discovered that he had completely lost vision in one eye and his face now had a long line that went from his head, across his eye, then down his cheeks.


    Blood fell as Duller¡¯s senses were shrouded in the feeling of pain.


    "YOU DARE TO ASK ABOUT THE PERSONAL MATTERS OF THE KING? KNOW YOUR PLACE!


    Next time you ask this, death will be your answer," Burdo shouted.


    Whatever subtle manipulation Duller had been doing was immediately nullified after he asked that question. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without caring for his escort, Burdo jumped into the river and swam away, looking for the underwater tunnel Kael had mentioned some time in the past.


    Kael had said that the tunnel was present during his fight with a certain water snake in that discussion. Burdo had remembered and took note of it, not knowing that he might get to see the said cave so soon.


    Duller looked on in shock as the water lion and his lionesses swam away. The shock of the sudden attack caused him to not yet feel the pain, but he knew it was coming.


    The resentment that had previously been suppressed in his heart suddenly erupted in the form of a spirit wave. Any ordinary creature that had never awakened their hearts would have become retards if they were hit by this spirit wave.


    Duller¡¯s body shook as he was finding it hard to contain his anger. The pain had started to set in and he collapsed to the ground.


    He used his paws to cover his face as he whimpered. It hurts very much.


    The resentment mixed with sadness and indignation. His hatred for all that was happening reached its peak and something finally snapped in him.


    If before he had merely tried to be an observer looking for an opportunity to make a difference, now he just wanted to do something malicious.


    ######


    At this time, when the sound of shattering glass resounded everywhere, Kael finally reached the mountain peak.


    He followed a well-dug path until he arrived on the wide flat platform on the Mount top.


    The red lightning that he had been seeing on his way to the top was finally presented to his eyes in its full glory.


    He saw the bolts of lightning raining down on the center of the mountaintop. There were hot rocks and rubble around, looking like the remains of a once-standing cave.


    Kael looked hard but he could barely make out any figure inside the lightning rain. But he could sense a rising aura from that place, an aura that was already stronger than his.


    Kael transformed into his humanoid form, preserving his energy.


    He held the two red-capped mushrooms in one hand while he clenched his other hand into a fist.


    He lowered his body and his calves bulged with raw strength.


    *BOOM!*


    The ground cracked as Kael launched himself at the red lightning rain, his fist pulled back in preparation to throw a devastating punch.


    The half-second his body sped to the red lightning, his body expanded and bulged, and purpled electricity coursed through his body.


    He gathered the power of War and the power of Electricity in his right fist, causing it to release a purplish-red glow. And then he threw the punch.


    *BOOM!*


    The rain of lightning seized as a shockwave spread out from the collision point.


    Kael¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the clawed hand that was effortlessly grabbing his fist and casually stopping his punch.


    "Lion¡­"

 Chapter 109: Sky Dive

    The sounds of glass shattering continuously rang out from nowhere in particular.


    There was no visible scene of anything being broken, yet there were shattering sounds.


    An unstable portal appeared in the sky above the mountain, the edges of the portal were cracked and looked like broken mirrors. It looked as if the sky was breaking into small fragments.


    A giant bird shot out of the portal with a clear cry of pain resounding from its long neck.


    On the bird¡¯s back was a large lioness who dug her claws into the back of the bird, drawing blood and pulling out feathers.


    Katari made sure that her claws were dug firmly into the back of this large crane. She too had bloody wounds on her body caused by the crane¡¯s talons.


    A fierce battle had happened inside the separate dimension in between the portals.


    "Stupid lioness, get off me?" Isaiah shouted as turned in the air, flapping his wings rapidly to shake Katari off.


    Katari didn¡¯t dare let go, instead, she gripped harder. If she fell from this height, it was a certain and painful death.


    But Isaiah was hell-bent on shaking her off. He flapped his massive wings with all his strength, rising to the sky fast with the air particles rushing past them fast.


    Katari closed her eyes because of the whiplash. Soon, she felt the air pressure dying down and when she opened her eyes, she found herself above the clouds.


    She looked down to see the mountain shrinking in her sight. Her claws extended and she gripped harder.


    By now, the red lightning storm had ended and what was left was a clear sky with slightly grey clouds.


    Isaiah cried, he spread his wings and released a terrifying space storm from his body.


    Luckily, Katari had been prepared for something like this. The space shield around her vibrated horrifyingly as multiple spatial blades hit her.


    Unfortunately, she could not hold on as she was eventually hit with too much force. Her grip was so strong that she pulled out some flesh in the process.


    Isiah screamed at the top of his lungs, rage filling his eyes. "You¡­" He was so angry that he couldn¡¯t find the perfect insults.


    Looking at the falling lioness, a look of ruthlessness appeared in Isiah¡¯s eyes. With a twist of his body, he dived down, his long yellow beak pointed at Katari and his wings tucked in.


    He aimed to skewer her through the belly ending her in one fell swoop.


    Katari who was falling saw the crane diving at her with unhidden killing intent. Space twisted around her as she teleported out of the way. As soon as she disappeared, Isaiah swooped down with ghostly speed.


    Katari appeared above the clouds, looking down to see Isaiah still diving down. He had missed his target but the bird was still going down.


    As gravity took hold of her body and she fell, she looked past Isaiah to see where he was diving. She saw that he was aiming straight for the mountaintop where Kael already was.


    Even though he had missed his target, Isaiah still had to focus on the main issue at hand, protecting his friend.


    Katari frowned, she could not afford for anything to disturb Kael. Space twisted around her again as she teleported.


    She appeared again just a few meters away from Isaiah, her paws outstretched to grab him again. But Isaiah was moving too fast and the distance between them was increasing again.


    Space twisted again as Katari teleported. She appeared just behind Isaiah, her claws just a hair¡¯s breadth away from touching one of his feathers.


    Once again, she couldn¡¯t reach him on time and she watched him getting closer and closer to the mountaintop.


    Katari had to be very careful with her teleportation so that her body wouldn¡¯t overlap its position with Isiah¡¯s.


    If that happened, things could go bad for both of them very fast.


    But realizing that it would be hard to catch this airborne creature with teleportation alone, she started to think hard. But she didn¡¯t have too much time to think, Isiah was up on the mountaintop and would crash into the golden lion there.


    Without too much hesitation, Katari teleported and appeared in front of Isaiah¡¯s diving form. Isaiah¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the lioness suddenly appearing in front of him.


    Time seemed to slow down to crawl for them.


    Katari teleported just a few distance away from Isaiah¡¯s head, just enough distance to avoid the pointed beak.


    Her outstretched claw latched onto one of Isiah¡¯s wings and her other front claw dug into his side.


    The sudden added weight caused Isaiah to lose his balance. Not to mention with Katari clawing around his body, he could barely focus on what he was doing.


    Katari heaved to the side, using her weight to steer the big bird out of the way. Isiah dived passed the mountaintop, missing Kael by the edges.


    He hurriedly spread his wings to stabilize himself, he couldn¡¯t stop his descent but he could slow himself down.


    With little control over his sense of direction, Isiah crashed into the side of the mountain. Katari had already teleported away from him, not intending to share in the fall damage.


    Suddenly, dozens of magic stones flew up to surround Isiah, all of them brimming with the power of electricity inside of them.


    Electricity surged as all the power was directed at Isaiah¡¯s fallen form. Isaiah screamed in agony as the blue electricity ravaged his whole body.


    A spatial shield appeared in front of him, blocking off as many electricity attacks as it could. The invisible barrier began to crack as Katari appeared and began to rain down claw strikes on the Isiah.


    Isiah was receiving attacks from two sides. He was confident that he could handle Katari if he had enough time but if he did that these mysterious magic stones would descend on him and could probably kill him if he was not careful. The amount of electricity within them was just illogical as if they were taping power from a distant source.


    Meanwhile, Kael had just thrown his puck which was a signal that his own fight had already started.


    He felt the strong breeze that washed over him after Isaiah dived passed the mountain. But his mind was on other things for now.


    First of all, his hand was outstretched and it was still in the form of a fist that he could not move. His clenched fist was firmly held in the hand of a bigger humanoid.


    Looking up, Kael could finally take a closer analysis of this Darius. He was looking at a seven-foot-tall humanoid man with a bulky frame similar to Kael¡¯s.


    He was taller and bigger than Kael and had very faint stripes on his body. The stripes were so faint that Kael could only see them because he was close.


    Behind this huge humanoid man was a long red tail with black stripes. His tail swished around mesmerizingly, following a certain rhythm.


    On his head was a mass of crimson-red hair that fell just below his chin. This crimson hair had black streaks here and there, a reference to his tiger coat.


    Beneath that mass of hair was a handsome face even Kael could not deny. His eyes were like black marbles with glowing red rings in the center, his nose was upturned and slightly flat, and his skin was unnecessarily smooth.


    He would look like a war-hardened soldier if not for his very smooth skin.


    Darius frowned as he looked down at Kael. "Lion¡­" He muttered, opening his mouth to speak. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This surprised Kael for two reasons, first was because he had never seen anyone speak with their mouths since he reincarnated into this world.


    The second was that he could somehow understand this language despite hearing it for the first time¡­Or was he?


    Kael recalled that this was the same language the Primordial lions before him had used to talk.


    However, Kael could not think too much as Darius began squeezing his hand.


    "You just couldn¡¯t wait any longer could you," Darius said as red lightning began to swim over his body. Kael felt a tingling and painful sensation in his arms but his face remained calm.


    "The cause of all this is N¡¯bay¨¦, I knew I should have never tolerated your lionkind on the mountain." As Darius spoke, he looked around, seemingly searching for something.


    Kael tried to pull his arm back but felt like he was trying to escape from a metal clamp. His fist was grasped firmly and Darius was slowly applying more pressure.


    A look of dissatisfaction appeared on Darius¡¯s face all of a sudden, "Where is Isaiah?"


    Just then, he heard the cry of a crane, an awfully familiar cry. It was the cry of Isaiah after he had been zapped by those magic stones.


    That cry seemed to push Darius into a panicked state as his eyes widened and his hand clenched with Kael¡¯s fist still held in it.


    *CRACK!*


    Pain filled Kael¡¯s senses¡­

 Chapter 110: Darius Versus Kael

    Pain filled Kael¡¯s senses as he saw his hand being squeezed to mush. Darius effortlessly crushed his hand as if Kael wasn¡¯t trying to put up any resistance.


    Despite the pain, Kael didn¡¯t say a word or shout.


    Before he could react, Darius, who was still holding on to his crushed hand pulled back. He flung Kael to the side as if he was dealing with a piece of trash.


    Kael crashed to the side, almost falling off the edge of not that he used his metallic gold claws to stop himself. He could only achieve this by using his one remaining good arm and his two legs.


    He still had to be careful not to damage the two red-capped mushrooms.


    He looked up in alarm to see Darius jump forward and land at the edge of the mountaintop. Kael breathed a sigh of relief as Darius was not coming for him.


    He looked down at his crushed hand, or what remained of it. He tried to summon some vegetation out of the ground but he was finding it hard. High up on the mountaintop, it was hard to find strong vegetation as most of the area was filled with rocks. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He managed to draw out a few thin vines though. The vines wrapped around his crushed hand and began pumping vitality into him. He could feel his hand recovering and his shattered bones rearranging themselves.


    Meanwhile, Darius was looking down the mountaintop. He saw Isaiah, his friend, perched halfway down the mountain with a spatial barrier around him.


    On one side were dozens of floating stones shooting electric arcs at the spatial barrier. On the other side was a fierce lioness rapidly throwing sharp spatial claw slashes at the big bird.


    The spatial barrier was cracking and it would soon collapse if something didn¡¯t happen fast.


    From the looks of it, Isaiah would be able to handle either of the enemies if he was at his peak or if he was fighting one of them at the same time, but he had just had a battle with Katari.


    Darius¡¯s red ring eyes stared intensely at those floating stones. He could feel the power of electricity within them and he could tell that the electric energy was not coming from the stones themselves. The stones were just an output device, the electric energy was coming from another source.


    "Hmm¡­" Darius stretched out his hand. Red lightning began to flow on top of his body and in his eyes. The red lightning was bright and aggressive in its movement, seemingly designed to obliterate anything in its path.


    He waved his outstretched hand slightly, sending an electric arc down the mountain. The electric arc moved fast, instantaneously arriving above Isiah and hitting the magic stones.


    The magic stones seemed to go into overload as the red lightning drilled into them and followed the path to their source of power. One by one, the stones exploded into fine dust that rained down on Isaiah¡¯s spatial barrier.


    Everything happened so fast, Katari looked up to see another arc of electricity coming at her. She instinctively teleported out of the way, but she wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    When she appeared again tens of meters down the mountain, her body was smoking and there was a burnt smell coming from her.


    On her back was a deep burn wound, no blood flowed out of it as the wound had been sealed by the heat just as it had been made.


    Katari fell to the floor, her limbs overcome with weakness but her mind was still active. Faint red sparks still flickered over her body as the residual power of annihilation threatened to consume her.


    One had to know that Katari was a tier 3 lioness, in this world, she was a powerhouse. Even though she wasn¡¯t a war-type lioness, her body was still strong enough for her to easily break most things. Her fur and skin were tough and it would be hard for anything to just cause her any injuries.


    Kael guessed that the only thing that would be able to effortlessly pierce through the skin of a tier 3 lioness was a creature of similar power level or bullets shot by certain guns.


    But there were no guns in this world and the number of creatures with similar power levels was scarce.


    But here was Katari, easily taken out by a casual strike from Darius.


    "Forgive me, friend, I was too late," Darius said, his voice somehow reaching Isaiah¡¯s ears.


    Isiah looked up with an elated expression, the spatial barrier around him dispersed as he made an effort to preserve and recover his energy. "You are okay, that¡¯s all that matters. Did you succeed?" Isiah asked.


    A smirk appeared on Darius¡¯s face as he nodded his head slowly.


    Isiah spread his wings and was about to fly up to meet his friend when his eyes widened, "WATCH OUT!" He shouted.


    Darius turned around only for his face to get smashed with a large fist.


    A resounding boom echoed out as the ground on which Darius stood shattered. He took a heavy step back before regaining his balance and preventing himself from falling over.


    His cheeks were pressed to the side by Kael¡¯s fist. Kael, who had launched himself from the opposite side of the mountaintop¡¯s platform, looked into Darius¡¯s red eyes.


    His expression was fierce and his mind was determined. He had only managed to move Darius by a single step and that was only because he was using the power of War.


    Kael kicked out, his feet landing with superior might on Darius¡¯s muscular abdomen.


    Darius¡¯s body shot back, his legs digging two fissures into the stony ground. His expression remained calm though. He observed this humanoid who had suddenly grown to eight feet and had gotten extra muscular.


    "You have more than one power in you, like the spiders," Darius concluded.


    Red lightning crackled around him as he disappeared from his position, leaving behind a red spark trail.


    *BAM! BAM!*


    Like drum beats, Kael felt two fists collide with his chest within that second. He found himself flying away from the mountaintop with a deep cavity in his chest.


    Darius had discarded him and ignored his physical defense to do such a level of damage. Kael knew he had no chance if he wanted to fight fair.


    He had to use it.


    Without hesitation, ignoring the searing pain coming from his chest, his left hand rose to his mouth and he stuffed one of the red-capped mushrooms into his mouth.


    Darius¡¯s eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the red-capped mushroom, "That thing¡­"


    Kael felt all the cells in his body go into overdrive, he felt like he had been soaked in the purest form of energy and all this energy was building up too fast inside of him, he had to release it quickly if not he would explode.


    His golden eyes took on a red tint and red veins appeared on his muscular body.


    "Aaarrgh!" He couldn¡¯t help but let out a deep roar.


    Like jet engines, Kael¡¯s two feet burst out reddish-blue flames as he shot back to the mountaintop like a human-shaped missile.


    Seeing the incoming attack, Darius frowned but he did not try to move out of the way, he was filled with confidence that nothing would happen.


    *BOOM!*


    Stone debris flew into the air as the mountaintop was decimated. Darius found himself looking at the sky with his back touching the ground.


    A raging flaming fist came down hard and hit his face, causing the ground beneath his head to break away.


    Lightning surged out of his body as he caught Kael¡¯s next punch, albeit using way more effort than before.


    The red lightning concentrated on Darius¡¯s left fist as he threw out his own punch. His blow hit Kael square on the jaw and a faint crack could be heard as Kael stumbled away.


    Darius shot up from the ground, lightning coiling around his arms like red glowing snakes.


    Kael dropped the last red-capped mushroom in his hand. He had no idea if he would need it later but for this fight, he couldn¡¯t afford for both his hands to be occupied.


    Darius had not yet transformed into his true tiger form and Kael would not be stupid to do the same. Although there was no pride in this fight since this was a matter of life and death, there was still some dignity at play.


    Darius clearly didn¡¯t want to use his full might on Kael and spend his energy on him and Kael would act the same.


    Kael reached up with his now free left hand and rearranged his jaw, snapping it back into place. There was a metallic cling as the jaw was set back.


    Almost at the same time, both Kael and Darius burst out with extreme speed, clashing their fists with each other in an instant.


    Within seconds, they had exchanged tens of blows with Darius throwing more.


    Kael did not use the power of electricity he got from Ruda as that was just the lesser version of what Darius was using. Using it would be like giving Darius a stick to beat him with.


    Instead, he used the power of War to strengthen his body, then combined it with the power of fire and space as his primary weapons. Every other power he used to fight Darius was just what he remembered to use at that moment.


    The battle between these two big humanoid cats became so intense that the whole mountaintop started crumbling.

 Chapter 111: Soul Flame

    Author¡¯s Note: There was an error as this chapter is the combination of two chapters (the previous and the Soul Flame chapter). Unfortunately, I can¡¯t delete the excess so you guys will have to bear with me. Please scroll down until you find the Soul Flame chapter.


    I¡¯ll also try my best to edit as much grammatic errors as I can.


    Sorry for the inconvenience, thank you for reading.


    ##################


    Pain filled Kael¡¯s senses as he saw his hand being squeezed to mush. Darius effortlessly crushed his hand as if Kael wasn¡¯t trying to put up any resistance.


    Despite the pain, Kael didn¡¯t say a word or shout.


    Before he could react, Darius, who was still holding on to his crushed hand pulled back. He flung Kael to the side as if he was dealing with a piece of trash.


    Kael crashed to the side, almost falling off the edge of not that he used his metallic gold claws to stop himself. He could only achieve this by using his one remaining good arm and his two legs.


    He still had to be careful not to damage the two red-capped mushrooms.


    He looked up in alarm to see Darius jump forward and land at the edge of the mountaintop. Kael breathed a sigh of relief as Darius was not coming for him.


    He looked down at his crushed hand, or what remained of it. He tried to summon some vegetation out of the ground but he was finding it hard. High up on the mountaintop, it was hard to find strong vegetation as most of the area was filled with rocks.


    He managed to draw out a few thin vines though. The vines wrapped around his crushed hand and began pumping vitality into him. He could feel his hand recovering and his shattered bones rearranging themselves.


    Meanwhile, Darius was looking down the mountaintop. He saw Isaiah, his friend, perched halfway down the mountain with a spatial barrier around him.


    On one side were dozens of floating stones shooting electric arcs at the spatial barrier. On the other side was a fierce lioness rapidly throwing sharp spatial claw slashes at the big bird.


    The spatial barrier was cracking and it would soon collapse if something didn¡¯t happen fast.


    From the looks of it, Isaiah would be able to handle either of the enemies if he was at his peak or if he was fighting one of them at the same time, but he had just had a battle with Katari.


    Darius¡¯s red ring eyes stared intensely at those floating stones. He could feel the power of electricity within them and he could tell that the electric energy was not coming from the stones themselves. The stones were just an output device, the electric energy was coming from another source.


    "Hmm¡­" Darius stretched out his hand. Red lightning began to flow on top of his body and in his eyes. The red lightning was bright and aggressive in its movement, seemingly designed to obliterate anything in its path.


    He waved his outstretched hand slightly, sending an electric arc down the mountain. The electric arc moved fast, instantaneously arriving above Isiah and hitting the magic stones.


    The magic stones seemed to go into overload as the red lightning drilled into them and followed the path to their source of power. One by one, the stones exploded into fine dust that rained down on Isaiah¡¯s spatial barrier.


    Everything happened so fast, Katari looked up to see another arc of electricity coming at her. She instinctively teleported out of the way, but she wasn¡¯t fast enough.


    When she appeared again tens of meters down the mountain, her body was smoking and there was a burnt smell coming from her.


    On her back was a deep burn wound, no blood flowed out of it as the wound had been sealed by the heat just as it had been made.


    Katari fell to the floor, her limbs overcome with weakness but her mind was still active. Faint red sparks still flickered over her body as the residual power of annihilation threatened to consume her.


    One had to know that Katari was a tier 3 lioness, in this world, she was a powerhouse. Even though she wasn¡¯t a war-type lioness, her body was still strong enough for her to easily break most things. Her fur and skin were tough and it would be hard for anything to just cause her any injuries.


    Kael guessed that the only thing that would be able to effortlessly pierce through the skin of a tier 3 lioness was a creature of similar power level or bullets shot by certain guns.


    But there were no guns in this world and the number of creatures with similar power levels was scarce.


    But here was Katari, easily taken out by a casual strike from Darius.


    "Forgive me, friend, I was too late," Darius said, his voice somehow reaching Isaiah¡¯s ears.


    Isiah looked up with an elated expression, the spatial barrier around him dispersed as he made an effort to preserve and recover his energy. "You are okay, that¡¯s all that matters. Did you succeed?" Isiah asked.


    A smirk appeared on Darius¡¯s face as he nodded his head slowly.


    Isiah spread his wings and was about to fly up to meet his friend when his eyes widened, "WATCH OUT!" He shouted.


    Darius turned around only for his face to get smashed with a large fist.


    A resounding boom echoed out as the ground on which Darius stood shattered. He took a heavy step back before regaining his balance and preventing himself from falling over.


    His cheeks were pressed to the side by Kael¡¯s fist. Kael, who had launched himself from the opposite side of the mountaintop¡¯s platform, looked into Darius¡¯s red eyes.


    His expression was fierce and his mind was determined. He had only managed to move Darius by a single step and that was only because he was using the power of War.


    Kael kicked out, his feet landing with superior might on Darius¡¯s muscular abdomen.


    Darius¡¯s body shot back, his legs digging two fissures into the stony ground. His expression remained calm though. He observed this humanoid who had suddenly grown to eight feet and had gotten extra muscular.


    "You have more than one power in you, like the spiders," Darius concluded.


    Red lightning crackled around him as he disappeared from his position, leaving behind a red spark trail.


    *BAM! BAM!*


    Like drum beats, Kael felt two fists collide with his chest within that second. He found himself flying away from the mountaintop with a deep cavity in his chest.


    Darius had discarded him and ignored his physical defense to do such a level of damage. Kael knew he had no chance if he wanted to fight fair.


    He had to use it.


    Without hesitation, ignoring the searing pain coming from his chest, his left hand rose to his mouth and he stuffed one of the red-capped mushrooms into his mouth.


    Darius¡¯s eyes widened when he caught a glimpse of the red-capped mushroom, "That thing¡­"


    Kael felt all the cells in his body go into overdrive, he felt like he had been soaked in the purest form of energy and all this energy was building up too fast inside of him, he had to release it quickly if not he would explode.


    His golden eyes took on a red tint and red veins appeared on his muscular body.


    "Aaarrgh!" He couldn¡¯t help but let out a deep roar.


    Like jet engines, Kael¡¯s two feet burst out reddish-blue flames as he shot back to the mountaintop like a human-shaped missile.


    Seeing the incoming attack, Darius frowned but he did not try to move out of the way, he was filled with confidence that nothing would happen.


    *BOOM!*


    Stone debris flew into the air as the mountaintop was decimated. Darius found himself looking at the sky with his back touching the ground.


    A raging flaming fist came down hard and hit his face, causing the ground beneath his head to break away.


    Lightning surged out of his body as he caught Kael¡¯s next punch, albeit using way more effort than before.


    The red lightning concentrated on Darius¡¯s left fist as he threw out his own punch. His blow hit Kael square on the jaw and a faint crack could be heard as Kael stumbled away.


    Darius shot up from the ground, lightning coiling around his arms like red glowing snakes.


    Kael dropped the last red-capped mushroom in his hand. He had no idea if he would need it later but for this fight, he couldn¡¯t afford for both his hands to be occupied.


    Darius had not yet transformed into his true tiger form and Kael would not be stupid to do the same. Although there was no pride in this fight since this was a matter of life and death, there was still some dignity at play.


    Darius clearly didn¡¯t want to use his full might on Kael and spend his energy on him and Kael would act the same.


    Kael reached up with his now free left hand and rearranged his jaw, snapping it back into place. There was a metallic cling as the jaw was set back.


    Almost at the same time, both Kael and Darius burst out with extreme speed, clashing their fists with each other in an instant.


    Within seconds, they had exchanged tens of blows with Darius throwing more.


    Kael did not use the power of electricity he got from Ruda as that was just the lesser version of what Darius was using. Using it would be like giving Darius a stick to beat him with.


    Instead, he used the power of War to strengthen his body, then combined it with the power of fire and space as his primary weapons. Every other power he used to fight Darius was just what he remembered to use at that moment.


    The battle between these two big humanoid cats became so intense that the whole mountaintop started crumbling.


    ########


    As the battle happened above, rubbles fell down the mountain and some of them hit the wolves.


    A few wolves were immediately killed upon being hit with these falling rocks. Luckily, the foxes who were crazily searching for loot were unscathed.


    Despite the rain of stones happening around them and the heavy-hitting battles happening above, the foxes refrained from running away.


    That would just give Madam Vixy a reason to gloat and tell them that she was right. To them, the falling rocks did not pose much of a danger as Vixy¡¯s scorn.


    The white fox who had received Vixy¡¯s killing intent earlier was currently dragging the body of a large green lizard down the mountain with two other foxes.


    He used his sharp teeth to latch on to the tail of the dead lizard while the two other foxes dragged with the hind limbs.


    He had to make sure that this lizard carcass made it back to the cave, for the sake of his future and the sake of his peace of mind.


    #####


    Eidel ran the sides of the mountain in her humanoid form at incredible speed, taking on two different creatures on her own at the same time.


    One was a weasel-like creature with fire attributes the same as hers. The other was a snake that had silver-colored metallic scales and a very long body. Its two long fangs would expose themselves anytime it tried to bite at the flaming lioness.


    In this fight, the weasel acted with caution and it fought like it was being forced to. Not only was it smaller than Eidel, but it was also weaker.


    Both the weasel and the snake were fighting Eidel in their true forms, using their full powers, but Eidel was still fighting in her human form, looking like she was about to explode with way more power.


    The metal snake coiled its body tightly, metal clangs resounding from its action. Then it lunged straight at Eidel lightning fast with its open maw going straight for her neck.


    Eidel saw this coming and had already thrown her fist out the moment the snake coiled itself.


    An explosion occurred as the flaming fist met the metal scales. The metal snake felt a vibration spread from its head to its tail and its scales began to feel numb, like they weren¡¯t there.


    There was a weird tingling taste in its mouth, blood. Only then did it see how far Eidels punch had sent him.


    Eidel didn¡¯t need to use any superior physical prowess to achieve this. Just the shockwave of the explosion was enough to cause this type of knockback effect.


    The weasel was affected by this explosion but wasn¡¯t thrown away by the shock wave. Even Eidel was sent flying back as she wasn¡¯t immune to the side effects of her own attack.


    Seeing the opportunity, the weasel immediately turned around and ran down the mountain, intending to escape from Eidel. He had nothing to do with what was going on in the mountain, he could always find a new home, he didn¡¯t see why he should risk his life for this one.


    Eidel glanced at the running weasel and frowned. She didn¡¯t want any of these animals to run away, after all, their hearts would help her pride sister evolve. It would be a waste to let them run away like this.


    With that thought, the two tails behind her swerved from left to right and the ghostly white flame on the second tail grew brighter.


    The flames on Eidel¡¯s body turned from reddish-orange to ghostly white in that instant, and one of her tails retained its orange flames.


    Her hair was still a bright red but the white flames that covered them gave her a mysterious look.


    ¡¯Since ordinary fire wouldn¡¯t work¡­¡¯


    She aimed her open hand at the running weasel and shot a head-sized white ball of fire. The white ball of fire zoomed toward the running weasel, hitting it before it could get close to the mountain foot.


    "*SCREEEEEEEECH!*"


    The weasel screamed like a maniac as its limbs gave out and it stumbled to the floor, tussling around.


    He couldn¡¯t remember when last he felt the sensation of something burning him, it had been so long, back when he was an ordinary weasel.


    But now, he felt a burning pain and couldn¡¯t understand where it was coming from.


    In Eidel¡¯s eyes, the flames of the weasel were still on and it didn¡¯t look like it was suffering from any damage whatsoever.


    However, Eidel knew that that flame didn¡¯t target the physical matter of anything. Rather, that ghostly white flame was the soul flame and did just as it was intended to do¡­ burn the soul.


    The weasel rolled on the ground then got up and started bashing his head on the stony ground, hoping for the pain to distract him from the soul burn. But it was futile.


    He felt the pain of his face being smashed against the rocks but that pain was nothing compared to the feeling of his soul being burnt away.


    The worst part was that this was Eidel¡¯s first time using this flame and she didn¡¯t know how to use it well. If she could, she would have had the soul flame burn his soul fast.


    But because she didn¡¯t, she could only watch with a cold gaze as the soul of the weasel burned away at a slow pace.


    Clanking sounds were heard as the rocks from the mountaintop fell on the metal scales of the snake. The falling rocks didn¡¯t disturb the snake though as it was looking with its eyes filled with shock of the suffering weasel.


    He turned his head just in time to see Eidel¡¯s White-ish-red eyes staring straight at him.


    "No," He lamented as he coiled back. He sprang away, dodging a white fireball by a hair¡¯s breadth. His scales clanged against the ground as he slithered away from the mountain.


    Eidel scoffed at the pitiful attempt of the snake to run away. Hadn¡¯t he been so enthusiastic about fighting her a few seconds ago? Now that it saw something that its metal scales couldn¡¯t defend against, it decided to run away.


    She scoffed at the snake as it slithered in a zig-zag manner, hoping to dodge whatever projectile Eidel would shoot at him.


    He seemed to have forgotten how fire truly operates.


    Eidel waves her hand out and a wave of fire spreads out from her body, washing down the mountain like white water. Except it wasn¡¯t water, but fire.


    Luckily, the part of the mountain where this fight was happening was absent of the wolves and other allies, if not Eidel would not be able to perform this act.


    The white fire wave brushed past the metal-scaled snake before dispersing. What followed was a loud hiss that conveyed the agony expressed within.


    The pain, there was none like it. It was like having an itch but not knowing where to scratch, except this itch was a million times more painful.


    The snake could feel that a part of him was being corroded, eaten up into oblivion. As he felt his consciousness fading away, the feeling of pain didn¡¯t stop, it just got more concentrated.


    If only he could know what exactly was burning on his body, maybe would be able to cut it off.


    That was the last thought of the metal-scaled snake as its sorrowful hiss died down and its body went limp. There was no sign of fire damage on its body, yet it had been burnt to death.


    Eidel¡¯s two tails swished as the white flames died down and were replaced with the regular orange flame of the mortals.


    Even though she was in her humanoid form, this fight had cost a lot of energy and injuries. But looking at the two dead bodies, she felt it was worth it.


    Small rocks fell on her at this time and she looked up to see what was happening.


    Up above, on the mountaintop, the amount of booms she could hear per second was frightening. It was like five different explosions were happening within a second.


    Joining this kind of fight was simply suicidal so she decided to stay back and watch the two corpses for now. She remembered seeing some foxes going around and picking the bodies while she was fighting, so she decided to wait for them.


    #####


    Kael¡¯s body trembled as red veins bulged from his skin. Every movement he made caused the veins to glow with a faint light.


    He threw his fist with the power of war and flames intertwined within.


    *BOOM!*


    It landed on Darius¡¯s muscled chest and sent the humanoid tiger flying. However, Darius, with a body shrouded in red lightning, rushed back instantly and delivered a kick to Kael¡¯s jaws.


    This was how they exchanged blows, each blow being so powerful that it knocked the opponent away. And the fight was happening extremely fast with both of them throwing attacks multiple times per second.


    As the fight drew on, its scale and intensity grew. There was now more lightning appearing and the booms had gotten louder. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their current battleground could no longer contain them. For them to find an advantage over the other, they would have to leave the mountaintop.

 Chapter 112: Lion Vs Tiger

    *BOOM!*


    The two humanoids were blasted away from each other after their fists collided.


    Kael¡¯s feet went past the edge of the mountaintop, just as he expected. He looked through the rising rubble to see Darius already rushing back at him.


    Kael¡¯s mind spun as he analyzed his progress in this battle. He won¡¯t be able to defeat Darius at this level, he has to do something.


    His mind spun and his eyes darted around. Suddenly, he caught sight of the other red-capped mushroom lying in the rubble.


    Some parts of the red-capped mushroom¡¯s body were crushed and it was leaking a reddish transparent goo.


    Seeing where Kael¡¯s eyes were looking, Darius also looked in that direction. He saw the mushroom and acted fast.


    Red lightning surrounded his body as he dived straight for the mushroom.


    Kael caught the bright flash of red light coming from Darius¡¯s body. No longer hesitating, his body began to expand as golden fur sprouted out from his skin.


    He swiftly transformed into his large lion form. Flames burst out of his paws and purple electricity surged around his body. He shot straight for the mushroom, albeit he was a bit late.


    Darius was faster, he crashed into the ground, the mushroom safely in his hand. He had just raised his head when a large paw bigger than his head descended and slapped him across the face.


    There was a resounding crack as Darius¡¯s neck turned and his body slammed into the ground, forming a wide crater.


    Before he could react, Kael swiped at his hand, removing the mushroom and injuring him in the process.


    Kael hurriedly bit down on the mushroom. He could already feel his body breaking down from eating the first mushroom but he had no choice.


    He thought of running away but didn¡¯t act on this thought. He had already eaten one mushroom, once the effects wear off and the side effects kick in, Darius would be able to chase after him and kill him in his weakened state.


    It was better for him to use all his efforts now to end everything. And just in case he didn¡¯t win this fight even after all the preparations, he had readied his mind. He came to Darius with the knowledge that he could die and he had already told N¡¯bay¨¦ what to do in case that happened.


    Kael could feel his body breaking down yet Darius hadn¡¯t even used his full power. If he didn¡¯t take the second mushroom, he would surely die.


    Just when he was about to swallow the mushroom, Darius lunged at Kael, wrapping his arms around the thick mane and using his bare hands to grip Kael¡¯s jaws.


    Kael was surprised at the suicidal actions of this Darius, then he felt a surge of lightning enter his body and almost vaporize his cells.


    "ROAR!" He let out a lion roar that cleared away all the floating dust.


    Dark clouds had gathered in the sky again and red lightning brimmed within them, no doubt a work of Darius.


    "You fool! Are you so obsessed with winning that you want to kill yourself over it?" Darius asked with gritted teeth.


    E was careful to only grab onto Kael¡¯s lips, no matter how strong he was, he wasn¡¯t confident that he could survive a bite from those golden fangs.


    "You dare!" Kael was more infuriated that Darius was trying to do this with just his humanoid form. From an onlooker¡¯s perspective, Kael was in an inferior position by a creature that was smaller than him.


    Kael¡¯s body expanded again and his muscles bulged against his skin, his mane stood on end. His fangs and claws grew longer and jagged, almost cutting Darius who had no choice but to quickly remove his hand from the lion¡¯s mouth. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael swallowed the mushroom just as a bolt of red lightning descended from the sky like the punishment sent by the heavenly judge.


    The lightning struck Kael, his body lighting up like a red bulb, even his insides could be seen for a brief second.


    What followed was an explosion as a disc-shaped dust cloud spread out rapidly from the mountaintop, covering the area below in darkness.


    Eidel, Nalii, Katari, N¡¯bay¨¦, Ruda, Zabita, Olivia, Diane, Commander Bibi, and the rest looked up with shock and worry on their faces.


    ¡¯Is this the power of a tier 4 tiger?¡¯ This thought ran through the minds of many of them and some became worried for Kael, afraid that he might not stand a chance.


    Isaiah who was recovering looked up with a glimmer in his eyes. If he had listened to Darius and had chased after evolution like he should have, maybe he would have this type of power now.


    He wasn¡¯t jealous, just regretful. His laziness was the cause of him not being able to handle a small lioness and it almost cost him his life.


    Darius stood straight, ignoring the wave of dust that was hitting him. His eyes scanned around for any movement.


    Kael had ended up taking that mushroom but he didn¡¯t know if it had gone into effect before the lightning struck him. If it did, then that lightning strike would not have been able to kill Kael.


    Darius¡¯s ears twitched and the hair on his body stood on end, he felt a cold chill down his spine as a primal uneasiness began to erupt from within.


    There was a soft growl, very soft. Yet that growl was powerful enough to sweep away a portion of the floating dust. The growl was powerful enough to cause the ground to vibrate slightly. That growl shook Darius and caused his guts to churn.


    His red eyes gaze firmly upon the monstrosity that stood before him. Golden fur tinged with red, a dark golden mane that stood on end.


    His eyes were like red marbles with golden rings, fierce and majestic. He flexed his limbs and the ground cracked under his weight.


    Two long golden fangs hung from his upper jaw and ended below his lower jaw. Both jaws had now gotten big enough to easily have three human heads inside at the same time.


    A long golden tail swept from left to right behind him, each movement causing a small breeze.


    Kael¡¯s aura rose to the sky. But this power came at a cost, he was constantly drifting in and out of consciousness as if something else was fighting to take over.


    He could feel his sense of identity being challenged as the memories of the Primordial lions were breaking away and trying to replace his original memories.


    His body trembled as he closed his eyes and took in deep breaths, he felt like he would explode at any moment.


    Kael did not suppress the memory fragments, but he also didn¡¯t allow them to replace his original memories. He just let them come to the surface of his mind.


    With each memory fragment, Kael was temporarily losing identity of himself and what was left was not Kael.


    All that was left could only be described as the purest personification of the lions. From instincts to perspective, this was the amalgamation of multiple Primordial Lions, yet none of them.


    As Darius stared at this monstrous lion that towered over his seven-foot-tall form, he knew that Kael was no longer there. No, he was, he just wasn¡¯t.


    It was like Kael was in between two worlds, he was here, yet he wasn¡¯t.


    Those red and gold eyes were lost, yet he had never seen eyes so focused before.


    "THE CONQUERING¡­" Kael spoke all of a sudden. His telepathic voice had changed, sounding like multiple people talking at once.


    "...MUST BEGIN. CONQUEROR MODE ESTABLISHED." Kael finished his sentence.


    Darius frowned, he didn¡¯t understand what Kael was saying but he knew that it was not good.


    His body began to expand, his bones twisting and turning as he transformed. Red and black fur emerged from his skin and his face rearranged itself to accommodate his rising power.


    The tiger was huge, standing at a height of three meters from foot to shoulder. His coat of fur was crimson red with pitch-black stripes to decorate it.


    His jade white claws contrasted with his deep red fur. They were very long and calling them sharp would be an understatement.


    His eyes, black and red, stared at Kael provocatively.


    Now, what stood on the mountaintop was a three-meter tall lion and a three-meter tall tiger.


    Lightning surged around the form of Darius¡¯s tiger form while multiple powers surrounded Kael at this moment.


    Electricity, fire, vines, luck, magic, even though space twisted around him.


    They had not yet started fighting but their aura was already suppressing everything on the mountain. The ground cracked beneath them even when they had not yet taken a single step.


    One second, they were looking at each other, growling. Then the next second they disappeared into streaks of red and gold.


    The whole mountaintop shattered like a volcano had just erupted. This mountain, the very thing they were fighting for, was on the verge of destruction.

 Chapter 113: Conqueror Mode

    Like the swords destined to cleave the world in half, the two cut up and down the mountain rapidly.


    Their forms appeared and disappeared from one place to another, leaving nothing but red and gold streaks to show the movements.


    Darius threw one powerful claw attack after the other while also making sure that he didn¡¯t stay in one place. In this battle, he had to be mobile, moving around was crucial so that he did not become a sitting target.


    Most of his claw attacks landed on Kael¡¯s thick mane, not really causing much damage at all.


    The rest of the claw attacks hit Kael¡¯s face or limbs but even those had minimal effects compared to before.


    The injuries healed up just as soon as they opened and every strike on Kael¡¯s body just made him much more aggressive. This was also strange for Darius because Kael was still behaving weirdly.


    His face was full of fierceness but there was something about the way he was acting, almost like a robot. His gaze was cold, as though Darius was nothing but an error on a program that needed to be eliminated.


    Not to mention Kael¡¯s style of fighting was changing as one went by. He wasn¡¯t simply throwing paws and biting at Darius at any chance he got.


    His claw strikes had become more calculated and precise and despite Darius¡¯s speed, most of the claw strikes were hitting him. It looked like Kael was constantly analyzing the most effective way to eliminate this red tiger in front of him.


    "YOU ARE TO BE CONQUERED, YET YOU RESIST. CONSEQUENCE IS ANNIHILATION¡­" Kael spoke, his voice sounding like multiple mysterious people talking at once.


    "Fuck off¡­" Darius threw out dozens of lightning-fast claw strikes at Kael, all of them landing on Kael¡¯s head.


    A spatial shockwave erupted from Kael and multiple space blades spun around him. Darius dodged just in time, but his sides were cut open and blood flowed out.


    The pain seemed to send Darius down his own lane of irrationality. He rushed Kael and attacked him with all his might, lightning coursing through him to aid in his onslaught.


    The two big cats zoomed down the mountain, forming a spiral of red and gold light that went around the mountain.


    Like two speedsters that were locked in the zone, they sped away, leaving a trail of shattered ground and broken trees.


    One minute they had been fighting on the mountain, the next instant, they had taken the battle to the forest below.


    Looking from the mountain, Isiah and the lionesses could see the destruction that followed them everywhere they went.


    They carved out the ground and unknowingly tossed it with every zig zag. Trees were forcefully uprooted and blown away as the blows connected.


    As the fight progressed, there seemed to be a change, Kael was ahead and his blows were still of the same power, yet he was starting to have an advantage over Darius.


    Darius slowly found that he was being overwhelmed. Every paw strike carried a might that made his limbs numb, he was constantly being barraged with fire, space blades, vines, and the rest.


    Everywhere he turned, there was an attack coming in. He found himself getting more and more defensive.


    "YOUR DEMISE IS INEVITABLE, THE CONQUEROR SHALL PREVAIL!" Kael only seemed to get more weird as the fight went on.


    It was like the very idea of someone so powerful submitting to his might got him super excited.


    Darius fought on with all his years of accumulated experience but he felt like he was fighting a being that was way older and more experienced.


    "Wait¡­" He subconsciously said as he tried to get away and stall for some time to rest.


    However, his words fell on deaf ears. Multiple vines rose from the ground and these vines were shrouded with hot orange flames, a sight Darius had never imagined to be possible.


    The flaming vines whipped at Darius with unmatched ferocity and speed. Darius weaved through the hits but got unlucky and was unfortunately hit by one of the vines.


    Darius¡¯ body was sent flying back, crashing into multiple trees before he stopped. He got up with red lightning still flowing around him.


    Multiple lightning bolts descended from the sky, all aimed at Kael. It was either they struck the space barrier that was now perpetually around him, or he simply dodged it with his abnormal speed.


    The last time Darius felt this frustrated was when he was young and inexperienced. He had fought and killed lions before, why then was he having a hard time dealing with this one?


    *BAM!*


    Kael rushed him, half teleporting and half running so that Darius didn¡¯t see it coming. Kael¡¯s head bashed into Darius¡¯s nose.


    This marked the turning of tables. It instantly went from a fight of equals to a one-sided beatdown.


    The disorientation caused by Kael¡¯s bashing opened a period of vulnerability for Darius. It was just for a second, but that was enough.


    Kael clawed frantically at Darius¡¯s defenseless side, his golden claws tearing through the red and black fur coat and piercing through his thick hide.


    Darius roared as he recovered his senses and swiped viciously at Kael. Three terrifying arcs of red lightning were released from his claws.


    The lightning hit Kael and sent him flying, but compared to the damage he had done, this was nothing.


    Darius groaned from the pain. He saw his blood dripping down, had he been any slower, Kael would have seriously damaged his insides. He had avoided those golden claws as much as possible but it seems he wasn¡¯t careful enough.


    Darius slashed out again but Kael dodged this time. The red lightning passed through the trees behind, cutting them in half and leaving scorched studs.


    Kael opened his mouth to reveal a concentration of fire within. He took in a deep breath and his chest glowed bright orange.


    Darius braced himself, just as he moved out of the way, that very instant, Kael released the brewing hell within him.


    The beam of fire blasted right through the trees, turning them to ashes. The beam was so concentrated that it looked unrealistic. The ground beneath him began to melt and all the moisture evaporated, even nature couldn¡¯t stand the heat he was emitting.


    With a turn of his head, more trees were burned and the fire beam got closer and closer to Darius. Although Darius wielded the power of lightning, he himself wasn¡¯t as fast as lightning. The wound by his side already affected his speed and he couldn¡¯t move the way he wanted to.


    The fire beam hit him point blank and even after it did, the beam did not die down. Kael seemed to have eaten a whole lot of hot stuff and was simply regurgitating everything.


    "AAAAAAAH¡­" sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Nooooo!"


    Isaiah shouted at the top of his voice, he spread his wings and took to the skies, intending to help Darius.


    However, he did not reach far before multiple elemental attacks hit him from below.


    He could only desperately put up a spatial barrier around him while he tried to fly. The closer he got to Kael and Darius, the more intense the attacks.


    When vines rose from the ground like world snakes, he had no choice but to fly away into the sky.


    If he intended to come to the aid of his friend, that would cost him his life. The question of whether assisting Darius was worth it caused him to hesitate.


    He cared about Darius dearly as a friend, they had both journeyed the forest together and had claimed the mountain as their home.


    Many years were spent with the crane and the tiger accompanying each other. Would he be willing to throw it all away just to ensure his own survival?


    Perhaps, he would, but Isaiah didn¡¯t get to answer his inner turmoil as an explosion shook him out of his confused state.


    He saw from above how Kael kept rushing Darius with as many abilities as he could muster. Darius didn¡¯t have a chance to take a break, he would be hit with a fire beam, whipped with vines, slashed open with spatial blades, slapped around with muscular limbs and it would be in repeat.


    "CONQUEROR¡¯S ROAR!!!" Kael¡¯s telepathic voice reached the minds of everyone watching the fight, whether they were willing to listen or not.


    Darius felt a foreboding feeling. The laws of the world, the law in particular that was most responsive to the lions, began to converse around Kael¡¯s golden form.


    The large lion¡¯s body glittered brightly as the gold fur became more shiny.


    This unexpected period that Kael was using to charge a roar gave Darius the needed time to recover and get to his feet. This caused Isaiah to breathe a sigh of relief.


    Darius was able to get to his feet and circulate his lightning abilities, maybe he wouldn¡¯t lose just like that.


    The events that followed next, however, only filled everyone with dread.


    *"ROAR!"*


    Kael opened his mouth to give a resounding roar that spread throughout the forest. This wasn¡¯t just an abnormally loud roar. No, this roar came with a force to dominate all that heard it.


    With Kael as the center, a stupidly powerful golden wave spread out, seeking to crush all that stood in its way.


    And unknown to everyone but Isaiah who was still flying high up, cracks had begun to appear in the sky again.

 Chapter 114: Shattered Sky

    The skies went completely dark with thick clouds covering and blocking all the sunshine. Isiah who was flying had no choice but to go above the clouds, he already knew that was about to happen and judged that it would be suicidal to stay below the clouds.


    After flying above the clouds, he lost sight of Darius and Kael. The clouds beneath him brimmed with red lightning, thicker and brighter than before. This was a manifestation of Darius¡¯s current state.


    He was now an animal that had been pushed to the limit and these types of animals will last out with all their might.


    *CRACK!*


    Isaiah¡¯s attention was taken away by a sudden cracking sound that echoed across the sky.


    He looked up to see that far above the clouds, close to the edge of their atmosphere, the faint cracks that had merely been flashing in and out of existence had suddenly gotten brighter.


    The white cracks spread for kilometers and were still expanding. Isiah¡¯s pupils shrink as he sees those cracks pulse like blood veins.


    At the center of these white cracks, reality seemed to be eroding as parts of the sky opened up to reveal a tiny portal with shattered edges.


    "It actually opened?" Isaiah mumbled as he flapped his wings to stabilize himself in the air.


    That tiny portal with shattered edges was slowly expanding as the white cracks pulsed with power. Whatever was trying to come to this world from that side was succeeding.


    "ROAR!"


    A mighty lion roar that Isiah had never heard before erupted from below. This roar was followed by an aura of majesty that made Isaiah want to bow. He resisted this feeling with all his might.


    A few seconds after the roar sounded out, the cracks in the sky started to expand faster than before and the shattered edges portal was widening. It was as if the roar was a beacon and the mysterious entities were rushing to this world.


    Isiah for one second did not assume that these cracks were caused naturally. From the information he had gathered, all the previous occurrences seemed like something was trying to break into this world.


    Everyone who knew about the cracks was convinced that there was a mysterious entity on the other side. Whatever it was, they were sure they wouldn¡¯t be a match for it.


    Everyone secretly hoped that the cracks would just go away, but it seemed fate had other plans in store.


    Below the clouds, after Kael released his mighty roar, a golden wave spread out with his massive golden body at the center.


    Darius tried to resist the force of the wave but he found the pressure on his body increasing exponentially.


    His fur was pressed back and his claws hurt from trying to hold on to the ground. The more he resisted, the more the pressure on him increased.


    All the trees around him had been blown back or bent until their stems were touching the ground. Even the grasses had to bow to prevent being uprooted.


    Oh, the mountain, all the wolves, foxes, lionesses, and other creatures that had previously submitted to Kael bowed their heads. As they bowed, they discovered that the pressure that previously wanted to crush them disappeared.


    As the golden wave pressed ahead, it only concentrated on those who were defiant and chose to keep their knees straight.


    Darius noticed this, all he had to do was bow and he would be able to overcome this hurdle. As the person who was receiving the attack head-on, the pressure pushing on his body was very much heavier than what the others were experiencing.


    All the tiger had to do was bow to the lion¡­ "You dare¡­" Darius said while he gritted his teeth.


    Even tigers had pride, the thought of bowing his head to a lion caused him to feel nauseated.


    Thunder booms echoed from the sky as red lightning struck down on Kael¡¯s body, but the lightning dissipated before it could react to Kael.


    Seeing no way to injure Kael, Darius concentrated the lightning on his body, surrounding himself in a thick lightning shield. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Still, the pressure just continued increasing. It got to a point where Darius had almost used all his energy just to defend himself.


    He thought that Kael would run out of energy first but he was still roaring with the same intensity as he started with.


    More than ten seconds in and Darius completely ran out of energy. The wound by his side that he had been suppressing opened up and blood gushed out.


    He groaned as his limbs began to weaken and his body lowered to the ground. He really couldn¡¯t believe that he was losing.


    Pain spread through his body as his fur was being ripped from his skin. Blood spilled into the air but was blown back by the golden force.


    Slowly, Darius had all the hair on him ripped off except for a few fur patches that stubbornly held in place and caused him more pain. His feline body was bloody as the fur had been ripped away too brutally.


    His black stripes could still be seen even as he bled from the tiny wounds. His muscles bulged as he gripped the earth hard.


    Soon, his skin began to tear away, this made him panic. Was this how it was supposed to end?


    He didn¡¯t want to bow his head, but the feeling of his skin peeling away made him want to run mad.


    Just as he was about to decide on whether to continue resisting or just bow his head, the pressure stopped.


    Darius stumbled over due to the inertia. His limbs trembled and he collapsed to the ground. His eyelids grew heavy as his conciseness slowly slipped away.


    ¡¯What happened?" He wondered as he lay on his side, his eyes shifting to see the golden lion closing his mouth and looking at him with a tired expression.


    ¡¯I knew it¡­¡¯ Darius thought, he felt a sense of relief that Kael was not as monstrous as he thought, he had a limit. That was the last thought Darius had before he sank into unconsciousness.


    Seeing this, Kael¡¯s eyes glinted with ruthlessness. He took a step forward but paused, his limbs trembled badly and he felt like he was breaking apart.


    The effects of the red-capped mushrooms had worn off and he was slowly losing energy.


    E frowned and his expression turned into one of fierceness. Ignoring his unholy fatigue, he took more steps to the unconscious tiger.


    With every step he took, his body shrank, his muscles deflated and his spirit waned. By the time he made it to Darius, he had returned back to his original size, although something was different about his appearance now.


    Kael took in deep breaths, finding it hard to breathe well as even that had become a hard task. He weakly placed his extended golden claw on Darius¡¯s exposed neck.


    Darius didn¡¯t move, he was fully unconscious and if nothing happened, it would take a long while before he woke up.


    The clouds had cleared after Darius fell unconscious. Isaiah immediately swooped down to see his friend unconscious and fur-less with Kael placing his golden claw on his neck.


    His eyes widened, and he dived down even though he knew he would not be able to make it. Maybe a miracle would happen, maybe¡­


    Kael fell to the side, exhausted. Using his falling momentum, his claw pierced into Darius¡¯s defenseless neck easily, cutting through the windpipe and coming out of the other side.


    Blood gushed out as Darius¡¯s body started convulsing. A pool of blood began to form under him and red lightning began to surge once again. The lionesses who were already running towards Kael shook when they saw this, could Darius still survive this?


    But their worries were dashed away when the convulsing stopped and Darius went still. His chest no longer rose and fell to show that he was breathing, his abdomen sank in and his tail went limp.


    Isiah shot down, but he ignored Kael. His feet were aimed down as his talons grabbed two of Darius¡¯s limbs.


    He flapped his wings with all his remaining might, lifting the lifeless tiger into the air.


    ¡¯I just need to get to a safe place¡­¡¯ He thought. His brain had not yet registered that Darius was dead, or perhaps, he didn¡¯t want to.


    The lionesses could only watch with relief as Isaiah flew away. They didn¡¯t care about the tiger¡¯s body, for now, all they cared about was Kael.


    Thankfully, Isaiah was so occupied with trying to save Darius that he left the defenseless Kael alone.


    A faint yellow color died down from Kael¡¯s eyes, the color of luck.


    The surroundings had changed, turning into a wasteland. None of the trees in the surrounding kilometer was in one piece. The ground was cracked and scorched and the air was ionized.


    It would take some time for everything to recover.


    *CRACKADOOM!*


    Just as Nalii reached Kael¡¯s position, loud consecutive booms echoed from the sky as white cracks spread over the horizon.

 Chapter 115: Conflict At Sea

    All the creatures in the forest looked to the sky to see where the sound was coming from, the sound of breaking glass.


    The deers, the rabbits, the birds, the wolves, and many more creatures of the forest stared in shock at the sky.


    Duller looked to the sky, hiding the hatred in his heart. Burdo and his water lionesses had also come out of the water to look at the sky.


    Even from this place, they had heard all the booming sounds from Kael and Darius¡¯s fight.


    They saw the white pulsing cracks that spread from the horizon, it looked like the sky was falling apart.


    And then far in the distance, at the center of these white cracks was a portal that was slowly expanding. The edges of this portal looked fragmented and the insides of the portal couldn¡¯t be seen clearly.


    The observers with keen eyes could make out the figure of something larger hidden behind that portal and the reason that thing had not yet descended from the portal was that the portal wasn¡¯t big enough.


    This was happening, as shocking as it was, and everyone knew it. Most animals were panicking, running in different directions as their survival instincts didn¡¯t tell them what to do in this scenario.


    Beyond the forest, the animals of the plains looked to the sky in awe. The white cracks also extended to this part of the world, although the cracks were fainter and didn¡¯t pulse.


    The crocodiles and hippos surfaced from the river to look to the skies, the elephants raised their trunks and stomped their feet in annoyance.


    Little meerkats and rats poked their heads out of their little burrows, observing their environment. After noticing that there was no immediate danger, they went back into their burrows.


    By the river, there was a strange scene occurring. Multiple lions and lionesses walked by the river, heading in the same direction.


    The lions and lionesses weren¡¯t spaced out by kilometers but by mere meters. They walked in groups, with two out of every ten being a male lion and the rest females.


    The groups were the lion prides, and there were close to fifty of these lions walking by the river. A few of them had already evolved and advanced to tier 2.


    These tier 2 lions and lionesses were only five in number but they led from the front, serving as a strong front for all the lions even though they were divided into multiple prides.


    On a normal day, it would be very hard if not impossible for so many of these lions to come together without tearing themselves apart.


    If not for the mission that asked them to follow the river to the forest, they would probably never do something like this and leave their territories.


    After all, 100 points as a reward wasn¡¯t small. The amount of meat they could exchange it for was not extraordinary but it was much. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some of them had a taste of deer meat and decided that it was their favorite meat, some preferred moose. Either way, they could only find those meat on the exchange tabs and they needed points before they could exchange them for anything.


    But the only way they knew to earn points before was by referring and adding other lions to The Lion System, and the rewards were meager.


    Now that there was another mission with a higher reward, they would take it. It wasn¡¯t like they hadn¡¯t traveled around a lot before, they could always return back to their territory once they were done with the current mission.


    But they didn¡¯t abandon the referral mission though. In fact, the lions were actively sniffing around for the signs of any lion pride, seeking to convert them and bring them into the lion system.


    It had turned into something of a competition. The lions easily got aggressive when they found another lion and they would fight each other to be the one to add the rogue lions to the system.


    This of course caused quite a comical scene.


    The sight of all of them walking beside her river scared a lot of creatures. Even the hippos and the crocodiles dared not go too close. A herd of herbivores was one thing, a herd of carnivores was just something else.


    And because the lions had to eat, they had to hunt along the way¡­a lot. Many animals met their demise under the relentless pursuit of more than forty lionesses.


    Even the crocodiles and elephants were not safe. It didn¡¯t matter if they ran away at the sight of the lions, the strategy the lions employed was very human.


    A set group of lionesses would chase after the prey, pursuing them until they were tired. Then another set of lionesses who had been strolling behind and preserving their energy would continue the pursuit once they got close enough.


    Simply relentless. And because there were so many lionesses, their scale of attacks was vast, able to easily corner and surround multiple prey at once.


    When the loud cracking sounds and the white cracks appeared in the sky, they looked up, acknowledging that the white cracks were denser toward the horizon they journeyed to.


    There was something about the cracks that got their blood boiling and caused them to subconsciously release deep growls.


    #####


    On the opposite side of all this, far away from the mountain and beyond the edge of the savage lands. The white cracks extended here, hanging above the sea with their faint ominous light.


    The waters churned and bubbled as whirlpools formed in different areas of the ocean.


    Many large monsters began to surface, their colossal eyes staring curiously at the cracks in the sky.


    There were mega sharks, aquatic horses, swordfishes, whales, seals, crabs, turtles, jellyfish, aquatic snakes, and many more.


    Every slight movement from them caused the waters to glow and rise, forming small waves.


    Farther into the sea, there was a section that wasn¡¯t as crowded as the other places. There were very few creatures here and all of them were giant squids.


    Their greyish-white bodies sometimes flashed with different colors and their tentacles swirled in the air, flexing their powerful suckers.


    Each squid was at least two meters long then added to their tentacles, they were at least nine meters long. In terms of size and beauty, they were very impressive.


    "What in the deep is this rubbish?" The telepathic voice of one of the squids reached the minds of those present. The squid was referring to the racks in the sky.


    "I don¡¯t know sir, it seems to be a portal of some sort¡­" One of the squids responded, his voice sounding nervous.


    When he spoke, his eyes were looking at the biggest squid in their midst. This squid was very big, bigger than the rest. He was around fourteen meters long stretching from body to tentacle tip.


    The water around this squid brimmed with power. The water around him had a toxic greenish color that mixed strangely with the blue glow.


    "I know what it is you idiot. Just when we were on a mission, this shit shows up. Do you think those smart bastards planned this?" The extra large squid asked.


    The squids looked at each other before one of them swam forward to answer, "Respectfully speaking sir, I don¡¯t think the octopuses are smart enough to achieve something like this. Even for them, this is beyond their level just for a distraction.


    I think this is something else, sir."


    There was silence, the white cracks in the sky continued to pulse faintly.


    Suddenly, the extra large squid lashed out with one of his long tentacles and his body turned green. Despite the distance between the two, the tentacle extended and closed in fast on the shocked subordinate squid.


    His biological jet propellers flared as he tried to swim away but the tentacle still managed to touch him.


    "Aaah¡­" The subordinate squid shook erratically as poison entered his system and began shutting down all his motor abilities.


    "That is for implying that I am an idiot. Only spies of the Octopuses do that, therefore, you are a spy. You deserve death." The squid leader proclaimed while comically folding two of his tentacles. All he needed to kill someone didn¡¯t like was a stupid reason like this.


    The squid who had been hit convulsed in the water as his body began to sink. Ink spilled from his ink sack but it was already too late for that. If only he had kept his mouth shut.


    "Anyways, ignore the fool," The squid leaer began addressing the remaining squids who all looked at him with fear, "We have to make it to that mysterious beach to drop you scouts by dark.


    I¡¯m too eager to rip some octopuses to shreds, I want to be done with this mission¡­" The squid leader talked as he swung his tentacles and dived into the sea.


    The other squids followed after him. Their jet propellers flared to life as their bodies shot through the water at incredible speeds, like a water missile.


    The squid who had been poisoned by his leader remained, floating just below the surface of the waters, dead.

 Chapter 116: It’s Not Fair

    What a coincidence it was that the sky shattered on the same day that Kael and Darius fought, it was like fate had intentionally been playing chess with the savage lands as the chess board.


    Whatever was to come in the future, only now will they find out.


    Thick and strong vines wrapped around Kael¡¯s limbs and lifted his large lion form into the air.


    Dozens and dozens of floating magic stones sped over and placed themselves under Kael, subtly lifting him up and giving the appearance that he was floating.


    His limbs fell loosely to the ground, dragged against the dirt as he was taken away.


    Eidel and Nalii stood by his side while the remaining tier 2 lionesses walked in front. They headed back to the mountain in that order, their expressions a mix of excitement and worry.


    "Kael, we won," N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s voice was transmitted from one of the floating stones to Kael¡¯s mind, "The mountain is ours¡­"


    Kael opened his eyes slightly, revealing his golden pupils which now had a faint glow to them. "It would be a shame if we didn¡¯t win," Kael said, his mouth twisting into a tired but fierce grin.


    "Quick, adjust, and take me to safety. The wolves cannot see me like this, they cannot see their king in this state¡­" Kael¡¯s words were interrupted by a cough. Kael didn¡¯t know lions could cough until now as he had never done so, learning new things every day.


    The lionesses looked at each other with different expressions on their faces. How were they supposed to do that?


    "Won¡¯t it be better for them to see you like this, let them know how much effort you put into this fight.


    And you could even use it to fish out those who had bad intentions for us." Eidel said with the fire still blazing in her humanoid eyes.


    Kael glanced at Eidel, he didn¡¯t say anything, he just observed her. Kael had seen Eidel¡¯s lionesses form so he was intrigued to see her humanoid form for the first time.


    Indeed, lionesses all had different humanoid looks. Eidel¡¯s humanoid form was very different from N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ was tall but not too tall, she had smooth dark brown skin and her figure was curvy, in terms of beauty, she would be appealing to most human men. From Kael¡¯s observation, if N¡¯bay¨¦ was placed on Earth in her humanoid form, it would be assumed that she was of African lineage based on appearance alone.


    Kael himself looked different from N¡¯bay¨¦ in his own humanoid form. Besides his golden blonde hair and tan skin, he had also been very tall, taller than most human men. Based on appearance alone, he looked like someone from one of the Middle Eastern Arabian countries who had dyed his hair blonde. His blonde beard simply solidified this Middle Eastern look for him.


    Perhaps, because Eidel and Kael shared the same mother, Eidel¡¯s humanoid appearance was also very similar to Kael¡¯s.


    She had a very nice body, the right proportions at the right places. Her hips were wide and her waist was small, every step she took made it look like she was intentionally swaying her hips when she wasn¡¯t.


    Her skin tone was light tan and her hair was bright reddish-orange, mostly red. Her hair was wavy and curly in different places, falling down to her shoulders.


    Her face was oval-shaped and her nose was pointed, similar to Kael¡¯s. She was very beautiful and had the appearance of a Middle Eastern lady. She looked to be slightly younger than Kael which was weird since they were of the same age.


    Kael looked like a human in his thirties, giving him a regal and mature look. Eidel on the other hand looked to be in her mid-twenties.


    N¡¯bay¨¦, who was supposedly very much older than Kael, looked like she was also in her thirties, making them look like age mates.


    It was weird when one realized that Kael was just slightly more than four years old as a lion.


    Eidel¡¯s body shook as she felt Kael¡¯s gaze roaming all over her naked body. Kael had never looked at her like that before.


    Before she went into slumber, she remembered that Kael had a weird preference for N¡¯bay¨¦ because of her humanoid form. Now that she also had her humanoid form, did it mean that Kael would do that thing?


    Just the thought of it made her excited and her stride subconsciously became wider. For now, she knew nothing of what had happened between Kael and the remaining tier 2 lionesses while she was asleep.


    Kael didn¡¯t agree it disagree to what Eidel suggested, "Tell Commander Bibi to clear our paths, no wolves should be in sight."


    Eidel nodded and they all continued on their way, with Eidel meeting up with Bibi ahead and giving him Kael¡¯s orders.


    "Is the King alright?" Bibi asked, worriedly. He wouldn¡¯t want anything to happen to his benefactor now, would he?


    "Yes, he just needs to rest and heal his injuries, that¡¯s all," Eidel said nonchalantly before turning away.


    Commander Bibi sighed before looking for the new spirit wolf and giving him orders on what to do. Ever since this new spirit wolf joined, Duller¡¯s presence had become less needed.


    ¡¯Where is that wolf?...¡¯ Bibi wondered.


    As Kael and the lionesses approached the mountain, there were no wolves in sight. Kael looked up to see the damage he made Darius had done.


    The mountain looked a little shorter in his vision. The whole mountaintop of before was gone and a new mountaintop, much lower, was there now.


    Many broken rocks and strewn boulders could be seen lying around. The trees around the mountain were mostly gone and even the few pieces of vegetation on the mountain were destroyed


    At the end of the day, the very thing they had been fighting for had almost been destroyed, vanities at its finest.


    "Where is Katari?" Kael suddenly asked, noticing that Katari was not with them.


    "She chose to follow the big bird, but I sent some help," N¡¯bay¨¦ answered.


    "Oh," Kael said, then his face relaxed and he had a satisfactory expression on his furry face.


    "She had a tough fight, shouldn¡¯t she be resting?" Kael asked but he didn¡¯t expect anyone to answer. He just wondered how lucky he was to have someone like Katari in his life.


    ¡¯I should appreciate her more,¡¯ He thought.


    #######


    Isaiah flapped his wings, putting all his strength into each flap. His eyes were filled with denial as he refused to look down at what he was carrying.


    Grasped firmly by his talons was Darius¡¯s body. Two of his limbs were held by Isaiah and the body hung in such a way that blood continuously dropped to the ground.


    Even after flying so far and so long, Darius had not twitched, he just hung there lifelessly.


    Isiah was still pretty exhausted from the fight he had, carrying Darius¡¯s heavy body was not easy at all.


    Feeling his wings giving out, Isiah had no choice but to land roughly. Darius¡¯s body was dragged to the ground as Isaiah landed beside him.


    Isiah looked down, his beak quivering and his eyes shaking. The image he saw was overlapping with the memories he had of Darius when he was alive.


    "Is this it?" Isiah asked no one in particular.


    This wasn¡¯t how things were supposed to turn out for them. It wasn¡¯t.


    They were supposed to have each other¡¯s backs. Isiah would frolic around with the ladybirds and Darius would do whatever he wanted, but they would still have each other¡¯s backs.


    They had fought through a lot and destroyed a lot of enemies along the way. Isiah never thought he would have to continue his journey alone.


    Darius was supposed to successfully evolve and continue with his life, securing the mountain and being Isiah¡¯s strongest backer. Life was to be good.


    But those lions showed up.


    "It¡¯s not fair¡­" Isaiah¡¯s voice croaked. Tears fell from his eyes as he wept at the loss of a best friend.


    "It¡¯s just not fair!" He said.


    If an outsider looked at everything that went on, they would see that from Isaiah¡¯s perspective, Kael and the lionesses were technically the antagonists in this story.


    Everyone liked to believe in ¡¯survival of the fittest¡¯ until it wasn¡¯t in their favor. The wilderness was never fair, Isiah didn¡¯t understand how true those words were until now.


    He stood there, looking at the dead carcasses and weeping for minutes. His large white and black body cast a shadow over the tiger¡¯s corpse.


    *SWOOSH!*


    The sound of something flying through the air at incredible speed reached Isiah¡¯s ears. He looked up in alarm to see that dreaded magic stone heading straight for him with a trail of blue electricity behind it.


    "DAMN YOU!" Isaiah shouted as he hurriedly put up a spatial barrier around him while raising his wing to his face for added protection.


    The magic stone hit the spatial barrier with so much force that visible cracks spread through the air. Although the barrier didn¡¯t crack, Isiah was still sent flying.


    As soon as he landed, he looked up to see an elegant lioness calmly sitting beside Darius¡¯s corpse.


    She looked like she had been sitting there for a long time now and her eyes were indifferent. There were some dried injuries on her body but compared to her aura, they were negligible. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As he looked at this, whatever feeling Isiah had inside him at this moment turned into raw uncut hatred. Hatred so heavy that it almost made him run mad on the spot.


    Alas, he took a step back¡­

 Chapter 117: He Got Lucky

    Alas, Isiah took a step back. His eyes were focused on Katari, he completely ignored the magic stone that was hovering close to her.


    This lioness was too scary for him to be distracted by that stone. The stone carried a lot of power, but it couldn¡¯t leave his sight. Katari could literally disappear, she was the most dangerous out of all the lionesses.


    "You¡­" Isaiah said, his voice croaking. He looked at Darius¡¯s corpse and hesitated. If he left, the corpse would fall into the hands of the lions and that would just help them increase their overall power.


    The thought of the lions or wolves feasting on his friend¡¯s body made his spine tingle and his mind go numb with hatred.


    But the hatred came with a surprising level of clarity, this was the type of clarity needed to plan revenge.


    Without saying a word, Isaiah spread his wings and flapped them, flying into the air before opening a portal in front of him and disappearing into it. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The portal closed after he entered it, leaving behind a calm Katari and the floating magic stone.


    "Phew, I was hoping he would run away. My energy had gone low and I don¡¯t think it would have been enough to put him down." N¡¯bay¨¦ said telepathically through the stone.


    "Hmm, he got lucky," Katari said simply. N¡¯bay¨¦ didn¡¯t want to think too much over the words of this lioness so she just shifted her attention to the body of the tiger.


    "This should make up for all the losses¡­"


    "This should increase Kael¡¯s strength¡­"


    They both said at the same time. There was a deafening silence as Katari turned her head like a twitchy ghost to stare intensely at the magic stone.


    Even though N¡¯bay¨¦ was sure that Katari couldn¡¯t harm her from where she was, she still controlled the stone to move back.


    "What do you mean? Don¡¯t you want Kael to be stronger?" Katari asked while tilting her head to the side. Her face was expressionless and her eyes were calm.


    "Yes, of course. I was just thinking about the army." As N¡¯bay¨¦ spoke, her voice got lower as she anticipated how Katari would react.


    Surprisingly or not, Katari merely nodded her head before saying, "Oh, that¡¯s true. We¡¯ll let Kael decide then."


    N¡¯bay¨¦ for some reason didn¡¯t know how to react at first. Truly, Katari was unpredictable, one never knew whether she was in a good mood or not.


    Katari then turned her attention back to the tiger¡¯s corpse, "The body of a tier 4 tiger is quite big. To think he and Kael caused all that destruction not long ago. So much power, and now he¡¯s dead."


    "Yep," N¡¯bay¨¦ replied, "I¡¯m sending more magic stones over to assist with carrying it back."


    "Okay. You know, we need something to carry this type of stuff around in the future. I mean, we can¡¯t just be going around killing them stressing to carry our loot back to base.


    It¡¯s not efficient." Katari said.


    "Why are you so reasonable today?" N¡¯bay¨¦ couldn¡¯t help but ask. She had also thought of the same thing Katari had spoken of.


    Katari wasn¡¯t always thinking in terms of efficiency, but accessibility and anything that had to do with Kael¡¯s desires. What changed?


    Katari shrugged her head at N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s words, "I don¡¯t know, maybe I¡¯m just in a good state of mind, or maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m now tier 3."


    This calmness was very unsettling for N¡¯bay¨¦. Yes, evolution usually comes with increased intelligence but not like this. This was a change in demeanor or¡­


    ¡¯My goodness, she¡¯s learned from Kael how to mask her true characteristics,¡¯ The smart N¡¯bay¨¦ was immediately able to pinpoint what had gone wrong with Katari.


    Sure, she had gotten a bit smarter after the evolution. This meant that she could learn things more quickly and even find ways to apply what she learned.


    And Katari was usually close to Kael so if she was to learn anything from anyone, it would be the king.


    She was like a killing machine that had an incredible ability to learn, analyze, and adapt.


    Indeed, Isaiah was lucky, he would not win a second round with Katari, that was a fact of fatality.


    Looking at Katari, N¡¯bay¨¦ did not for a second believe that the way Katari was acting now was the way she actually felt inside, her guards would forever be high when close to his lioness.


    But not everyone was as smart as N¡¯bay¨¦, fortunately or unfortunately.


    Katari didn¡¯t seem to care about whatever N¡¯bay¨¦ was thinking, at least she didn¡¯t act like she cared.


    She just waited calmly. She could begin to drag the nearly six-meter-long corpse back to her king but as she had said before, it wouldn¡¯t be ¡¯efficient¡¯. She would tire out, spending double the effort for half the result.


    Soon, thirty-plus magic stones flew over from the distance and stopped in front of Katari.


    "Take a step back," N¡¯bay¨¦ advised, Katari obliged.


    The magic stones surrounded the body of the tiger, emitting red and blue light from the runes.


    The earth beneath the tiger¡¯s corpse began to shine as a magic circle was drawn with red and blue magic engravings.


    The section of the earth broke off into a round platform with the large tiger body on it. "He¡¯s heavy," N¡¯bay¨¦ commented as she expended energy to lift the earth platform and the tiger into the air.


    While the earth platform levitated away with the magic stones hovering around it, Katari looked up with interest, her eyes observing the white cracks in the sky.


    The portal at the center of these cracks was still far away but she could see it. If whatever was on the other side of this portal was to pass through, it would still land far away from them.


    There was nothing to worry about, for now.


    Katari was about to turn away and follow after the tiger corpse when the shattered portal finally expanded wide enough for her to catch a glimpse of what was coming.


    Sleek, silver-black body, shiny, gothic, brutal, violent. Those words came to her head as she saw the object slowly fly out of the portal. The object was big, very big.


    If Kael could look in the same direction, he would recognize this object as a spaceship or a magic shuttle. Not just any magic shuttle, but the design of this particular magic shuttle was similar to the ones he had seen in that memory of the war against dragons.


    This was a lion¡¯s magic shuttle. Katari didn¡¯t know this, after observing for some time, she lost interest and decided to just report it to Kael.


    #####


    The magic shuttle slowly descended from the portal, its sleek metallic exterior shone under the sun of the new world it was entering.


    [Connection between Leonine Heavenly Realm and unregistered Leonine Heavenly Realm Beacon is unstable.]


    A robotic voice sounded out from the shuttle¡¯s interior, alerting the anxious and prowling entities within.


    The shuttle was big, very big. Its length was over a kilometer long and half a kilometer in width. It was shaped like a rectangular box with the front being slightly pointed.


    Multi-colored lights danced within the gaps of the shiny exterior, flowing from one side to the other. The magic shuttles fully descended from the shattered portal which soon began to close up.


    The array of magic cannons pointed in different directions, clearly not there for decorations.


    The white cracks in the sky began to fade away slowly and the portal¡¯s fragmented edges started mending themselves back together, as if reality was repairing itself.


    The massive magic shuttle cast a dark shadow over the land and trees, all the big animals had run away and the small animals could only hide wherever their little legs had taken them.


    The ground shook terribly as the magic shuttle tried to land. The trees were crushed to the ground by an unseen force and the little critters burst into blood and meat paste.


    Slowly, pillars extended from hatches beneath the magic shuttle. With that, the massive vessel landed on the ground as gently as it could.


    There was silence as the ground cracked badly under the weight of this magic shuttle. The area where the magic shuttle had landed was filled with small hills in different places.


    It happened to land in a wide and somewhat flat area between two small hills.


    The cannons that had been still all this while began to let out a humming sound as their mouths lit up with power. The metal barrels were aimed at the two small hills and¡­


    *BOOM!*


    The sound that was emitted was loud but also short. There was a flash of light as the animals watching this object from a distance temporarily went blind.


    When they recovered their vision, the two hills beside the magic shuttle were gone. All that was left were two new wide pieces of land.


    *CHICK!*


    At the left and right sides of the magic shuttle, the supposed entrances to this magic shuttle made a strange sound before opening up vertically.


    On the right side of the ship, two entities walked out. One had the stance of a slave subordinate while the other had the aura of a regal king.

 Chapter 118: Slave Rats

    On the right side of the magic shuttle, the door latch opened upward and mechanical stairs extended from the bottom down to the ground.


    The stairs had a faint magic glow around their edges as one could see that they weren¡¯t attached. Instead, they hovered in place with precise movements and placement, making the stairs appear to be floating.


    Two silhouettes appeared at the entrance of the magic shuttle, both had two distinct auras.


    The one with the regal aura took a step down the stairs first. His thick leather boots clanked against the metallic surface, supporting his weight and identity.


    He took in a deep breath, his monolid eyes scanning the surroundings. There was a trace of excitement in his eyes as he stepped down with utmost confidence as if nothing in this world could harm him, and even if it could, it wouldn¡¯t dare to.


    His tied black hair blew back slightly in the breeze and his fair yet wrinkled skin showed that he was a bit elderly.


    He appeared to be a human in his late fifties or sixties. His black hair was tied into a bun behind his head and had some streaks of grey here and there.


    The goatee beard that decorated his face added to his good look. His eyes, although filled with pride and excitement, also contained awareness and intelligence.


    Everything about him looked human, he had no rain or beastly ears that suggested that he was a non-human. But he was in fact a non-human, he had the stench of lions, and his aura was undeniable. One could only wonder how he was able to hide his traits.


    And there was his height, as his boots landed on the grassy ground, his height became more apparent. He stood more than six feet but would be slightly shorter than Kael.


    Another thing about him was his attire, unlike the humanoids of this word, this lion in human form was wearing clothes.


    His feet were covered with fine brown leather boots. He wore a dark blue trouser with a matching trench coat, both made from a fine blue fabric. His trench coat had some intricate white designs on it that extended from the sides to the padded shoulders.


    He wore a white undershirt that had a bit of red blood stains on it but they weren¡¯t too noticeable.


    However, his clothes didn¡¯t hide how big he actually was on the inside. Although his trench coat and trousers were a bit baggy, his powerful physique still showed itself occasionally when he made some movements.


    "27?" The man opened his mouth and addressed the strange being beside him.


    "Yes, master?" The entity answered in a raspy and old voice. As he opened his mouth, he revealed two pointy and long teeth in the middle of his upper jaw, resembling a rat¡¯s mouth.


    This was a hunched-back humanoid creature. He had saggy yet tough cream skin and his eyes were small, black, and beady.


    His hands, which he rubbed together continuously, only had four fingers on each of them. On the upper sides of his head, he had two rat ears that joined his shaggy brown hair.


    His belly was full and round but he still appeared to be quite agile. From his face alone, one wouldn¡¯t be able to tell if he was getting old or getting young. He had saggy flesh all in the wrong places.


    Unlike the tall man, he was not wearing any clothes at all. He was completely naked, exposing his weird body to the world. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Gather the slaves to set up camp, we shall set up a stronghold before going ahead to look for the beacon that led us here." The man¡¯s voice was not deep, but it was firm.


    "Yes, master," 27 said as he turned his short body back to the shuttle. He opened his mouth wide and released a very high-pitched screech.


    There was the sound of multiple feet hitting the floor and scuttling around before the hundreds of creatures rushed out of the two entrances.


    They were rats, really big rats. Each rat was the size of an average dog with different colors of furs. The rats moved orderly, rushing to stand in front of 27 and the tall man, forming an assembly after they came out.


    "Address them on what to do, I want to check the premises," The man said as he walked away, supremely confident that 27 would obey his orders.


    "Yes master," 27 nodded and bowed in the tall man¡¯s direction before turning around to look at the horde of rats. Each rat here was comparable to a tier 2 lion or slightly weaker and there were more than three hundred of them.


    This was a force that would be able to dominate any part of the forest as it was.


    "Here me!" 27 shouted to his fellow rats, this time telepathically. "You there, lead your team to clear out the surroundings.


    You and you, get your squad to gather logs. 103, 126, 249, you all should dig out the foundation for our buildings with your teams¡­


    I want 92 and 154 to¡­"


    27 began relaying orders, exercising the authority that his master had given him. Not only was he comparable to a tier 3 lion, but he was also the leader of these slave rats. All thanks to his master.


    As he gave out orders, the mini leaders and their rat teams spread out to go do their work. Their flexible paws allowed them to do different types of labor very well so they were very good for slave work as the lions had seen.


    Soon, the sound of sharp teeth gnawing on trees and earth being turned over reached everywhere. All the animals that had been close by had all run away. The aura of the magic shuttle alone was terrifying, talk less of the hundreds of slave rats.


    The tall blue-clothed man walked around the magic shuttle, scanning the environment with his keen eyes.


    He crouched down to place his hand on the dirt ground, feeling the cold soil through his fingers.


    "Seems like a regular habitable world. Probably a former vassal planet from Lord Noel¡¯s era. But the heavenly beacon¡­" The man talked to himself.


    "Lord Ying! What is going on?" Suddenly loud boisterous voice echoed from the magic shuttle.


    A separate door latch had opened up close to the end of the magic shuttle and multiple tall figures were currently walking out.


    The tall blue-clothed man who was addressed as Lord Xu Ying, turned around with a look of annoyance on his face.


    "Do I need to teach you respect before you address me as the prince that I am? You dare speak to me as if I¡¯m a vassal?" Prince Ying turned around to look at the group of humanoids stepping out of the magic shuttle.


    His eyes ignored everyone else and focused on the person who had spoken.


    A tall youthful-looking man, taller than Xu Ying stepped forward, unafraid of this man. This youthful-looking man had a muscular appearance which was much more than Xu Ying¡¯s.


    His head was a fiery red and his face was shaven clean. His red and black eyebrows were slanted, giving the young-looking man a fierce and heroic look.


    He wore a black sleeveless jacket with a cargo trouser below coupled with black boots.


    "Bah, Xu Ying, you take things too personally. Aren¡¯t we all royalty here, why the need for formality?" The youthful-looking red-haired man said.


    Xu Ying rolled his eyes as he turned away from the red-haired lad. "Piss off, I¡¯m working." He said, trying to focus on his thoughts again.


    The red-haired youth only got more agitated by Xu Ying¡¯s reaction, he walked up to the blue clothes man and placed his arm on Xu Ying¡¯s shoulder.


    "I know you¡¯re working, but my father asked me to stay close to you. You¡¯re the one to be responsible for us in this expedition, you know that right?" The red-haired youth said with a cheeky smile. It was unclear if he was deliberately trying to be annoying or if this was just his personality.


    "Adolf?" Xu Ying spoke, there was a faint shimmer around him as magic runes appeared on his forehead.


    "Yes," Adolf, the red-haired youth answered.


    "Get your hand off me before I take it away." Xu Ying commanded, his voice getting dangerously low.


    Adolf seemed to have some sense in him as he silently removed his hand from Xu Ying¡¯s shoulder.


    "...Oh," Xu Ying began. "Indeed, I am responsible for you but let me remind you all that if this expedition doesn¡¯t bring satisfactory results, you can forget about your father ever making you a prince.


    Your fate is in my hands, you better set yourself straight."


    Adolf swallowed his words after hearing this. Xu Ying was right to remind him as it wasn¡¯t something he or any of his comrades liked to remember.


    And speaking of his comrades¡­


    "Come, Adolf, do not stress Prince Ying. You know better." A sweet but cold feminine voice reached their ears.


    The voice came from a tall beautiful woman with long white hair and fair skin. Her body was clothed in a long blue and white dress that had white fur at the collar, wrist, and ends.


    She stood together with twelve other humanoids just like her, all of them clothed in different attires, each giving off the aura of a tier 3 lion.


    "Yes, Adolf, listen to Alora and stop disturbing me." Xu Ying waved his hand as he crouched down again to observe the soil.

 Chapter 119: Lost World

    Adolf, the red-haired tall youth downed. His feelings towards this Alora lady were complex and it was hard for him to say whether he liked her or hated her.


    "Hmm," Adolf wanted to say something nasty but he refrained from doing so. He still had a soft spot for the white-haired lady so he was able to tolerate it.


    Standing beside Alora were twelve other youthful-looking people, all of them standing at least six feet tall. Added with Alora and Adolf, then there were a total of fourteen youthful-looking humanoids here.


    That meant fourteen tier 3 lions¡­


    Each of them had different unique looks and attires. Some of them were like Xu Ying, Adolf, and Alora, not having any physical lion traits.


    And some had physical characteristics that were just impossible to ignore. One particular young man with fair skin and a head decorated with dreadlocks had four arms.


    His four arms were in such a way that it looked very natural like it had always been that way with one shoulder behind the other. His fingers ended in sharp claws and he had a leaner physique compared to Adolf.


    This youth exuded a faint power of the earth that resonated with the ground beneath him.


    Another person, a male too, had the stature of a human except that he had azure-colored skin. His greenish-blue skin had small water droplets on it that reflected the sunlight splendidly.


    There was also a girl with long and thin black braids on her head. The braided hair ended or was assorted with little feathery accessories that gave her an exotic look.


    She had light brown skin. Behind her were two large wings, black and shiny feathers that were beautiful to look at. They were folded up neatly and the tips hovered a few feet away from the ground.


    At the back of her waist was a long black tail that ended in a tuft of black feathers.


    This brown-skinned girl with black wings stood very close to the white-haired Alora. Compared to Alora¡¯s cold and distant vibe, the black-winged girl seemed rather cheerful and easygoing. From the looks of things, the two young women were friends.


    She looked around, her big hazel eyes scanning her surroundings, "So this is the planet that the unknown beacon was signaling from? I thought there¡¯d be ruins of some sort." sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alora glanced indifferently at her friend, "Me too, this must be an old world." He said coolly.


    "Oh, that means there should be some things worth exploring." As the black-winged girl said this, she spread her wings as if she were about to shoot into the air.


    Alora stretched out her hand fast to stop the girl, "Chloe, for your own safety, I¡¯d suggest you wait for some time. You don¡¯t know what dangers lie here."


    Chloe¡¯s wings were folded again as she settled down her excitement, "I really can¡¯t stay in one place for too long though, I want to do something, or else I¡¯ll go insane," Chloe said jokingly with a smile.


    To this, Alora also gave a calm and controlled smile, as though she didn¡¯t want anyone to see her smiling for too long.


    "Why don¡¯t you come and fuck me since you are so restless." A blonde-haired and fair-skinned youth said with haughtiness clouding his every word. This man was the most well-dressed among everyone followed by Alora.


    His clothing looked like that of nobles and every piece seemed to compliment his power by causing minor fortune distortions around him.


    The words of this young man instantly dampened the mood of everyone hearing him. Even Adolf scowled at him, his eyes lighting up with little flames.


    The only person that remained undisturbed was Xu Ying who had pushed his hand all the way into the dirt soil with a magic circle formed around his arm.


    "...Hey don¡¯t ignore me, you all know the drill," The haughty young man continued to talk. He seemed to find pleasure in watching everyone¡¯s face get squeezed with annoyance.


    "The only reason I haven¡¯t cut off your tongue is because we actually need you," Chloe said, not bothering to disguise her disgust for this man in front of her.


    "Hehe, not only that, but my clan has also put a lot of investment into this expedition. All your clans have to tread carefully, or else¡­" The young man was about to finish his words.


    "Okay, that¡¯s enough!" Xu Ying suddenly shouted, his voice carrying a wave that brushed the bodies of all the youths present.


    "Thawne, stop trying to annoy them." Xu Ying said after releasing a tired sigh.


    The clans needed someone they could trust to supervise this expedition, someone who had experience and was strong enough, so they chose him.


    He didn¡¯t look like much but none of the youths dared to challenge him. He was the only one with a suppressed aura, something tier 3 lions were incapable of.


    "Prince Xu Ying, please, what were your findings?" One of the youths ignored the stiff atmosphere and asked the most important question.


    Xu Ying smiled, liking the way he was addressed with respect. He stood up, faced the fourteen lions in humanoid form, and placed his hands behind his back, accenting his broad and muscular chest.


    "Well for one," Xu Ying began, "This world is undocumented, which you already know. We don¡¯t have any knowledge of any lion clans conquering this world at all.


    Yet, there is a heavenly beacon that signals straight for the Leonine Heavenly Realm, which is quite strange.


    That means that this is probably one of the lost worlds from the era of Our Noel. Perhaps, this world holds some treasures from the old era waiting to be discovered.


    But we must be careful, this world and its inhabitants do not know that the royal race of lions is to be exalted. We shall reeducate them if necessary.


    Our main goal is to make sure this world is ready for the clans to come and conquer and share the resources. I want us to stick together at all times and remember that we all represent our individual clans.


    Until then¡­"


    Xu Ying suddenly went quiet mid-speech as he frowned and looked in a certain direction, his nose twitching and his fist clenching.


    Not just him, the youths all looked in that direction, their eyes shining with curiosity.


    "Hmm," Xu Ying swiped his hand through the air, drawing a blue line that then turned 180¡ã to form a perfect circle. Magic runes appeared within the circle, glowing with magic energy.


    Like a machine gun releasing bullets, the magic circle shot out blue spheres of mana that traveled fast into the distance.


    Far away from the landing site, multiple football-sized spiders were perched on the side of a tree, their eight eyes staring in the direction of the magic shuttle.


    They glowed with spirit energy, recording all that they were seeing and transmitting the data through web strings beneath them.


    Suddenly, the eyes of one of the spiders widened as multiple magic missiles crashed into the tree they were on.


    "Now there," Xu Ying exclaimed, seeing the explosion in the distance, "It was just a probing shot, I did not know our watchers were so weak.


    Anyways, as I was saying. We are to prepare this world for when our clans decide to properly conquer this world. And to do that, we must first find the Heavenly Beacon.


    Remember, your success will affect¡­"


    Xu Ying once again stopped talking as if the presence of something had interrupted him.


    This time, the youths were confused as their senses did not pick up anything. Xu Ying looked to the sky, waving his hand to summon another magic circle.


    Just as the magic circle was ready to fire into the empty sky, a portal opened up above them.


    The appearance of this portal caused the youths and Xu Ying to frown. They felt weird not because there was actually a portal but because an entity had gotten so close to them without their permission.


    They weren¡¯t used to this boldness, and the audacity intrigued them.


    Almost instantly as soon as the portal was opened, a giant bird flew out of it. The bird had white and black feathers, a slender neck, and a tall figure.


    "Wait, please don¡¯t attack me!" Isiah shouted telepathically as he spread his wings and hovered above the group of humanoid lions.


    "Oh," One of the youths said, surprised.


    Xu Ying, being just as curious as the rest of the youths put down his hand as the magic circle faded out of existence. Besides, he felt that he could easily kill this bird with one attack if he wanted to.


    Isiah, as he descended from the sky, felt his heart race. He could feel the aura of fourteen tier 3 lions and he was shaken to get core. Are these the entities who had been on the other side of the sky cracks?


    And there was that blue-clothed man that gave him a very dangerous feeling. All of them stared at him with the eyes of predators, looking like they could pounce on him at any moment if they desired.


    But he reminded himself of why he was bold enough to approach the magic shuttle in the first place and his resolve was reinforced.


    ¡¯Kael must suffer,¡¯ He said to himself as his feet finally touched the ground and he stood before the foreigners.

 Chapter 120: This Insolent Bastard!

    As Isaiah affirmed himself in the ground, he spoke telepathically, "Greetings foreigners, I¡­"


    *SWOOSH!*


    An ice blade shot past Isiah¡¯s head, its tip slashing a thin line on his neck. If it had flown a little bit closer, it would have cut Isiah¡¯s head clean off his neck.


    He looked to see one of the humanoids, a white-skinned and white-haired girl, had her hand outstretched with frost energy still oozing off from her fingers.


    Isaiah stood there, frozen, he didn¡¯t dare to take another move or say anything else. He felt the gazes of all of them, before they looked at him with curiosity, now, they seemed offended for some reason.


    "You opened your mouth to speak as though you believe us to be equals with you," Alora said, her brows furrowed like her peers.


    "Tell us, bird, do you believe that?" Chloe asked as her black wings twitched. Isiah felt like those gaze eyes, a combination of brown, gold, and green, were staring straight into his soul.


    Isaiah immediately shook his head, remembering the type of creatures he was talking to. Their aura was similar to Kael¡¯s, meaning they were the same race. If anything, they should behave similarly to Kael too.


    "I wouldn¡¯t dare," Isaiah hurriedly said as he put his wings up.


    "But you still speak to us in your true form. Do you perhaps see yourself as superior then?" Adolf asked, genuinely curious at how this bird could be so audacious.


    Isaiah blinked, confused. Since when did assuming his true form mean he was trying to show his superiority?


    But he didn¡¯t dare argue, he was already here, so he might as well play along.


    As he began to transform into his human form, the blonde-haired tall young man who was the most well-dressed began to walk over. As he walked, his finely tailored clothes tightened around his slightly chubby body and his full cheeks jiggled a bit.


    One wouldn¡¯t know this young man had a lot of excess flesh until he started moving around.


    Thawne moved surprisingly fast even though it appeared as if he was walking slowly. By the time Isiah had finished transforming into his humanoid form, Thawne was already in front of him. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *BAM!*


    Isiah was launched back as the fist met his belly. The punch only sent him a few meters, not too far, but it was painful. This blonde-haired man didn¡¯t even look like he was one of those that prioritized physical strength.


    "That¡¯s punishment for not bowing, I shall give you another for not asking for our permission before speaking¡­" Thawne said, very serious about what he wanted to do as he walked toward the fallen Isaiah.


    As Isaiah lay on the ground, curled up and writhing in pain, he wondered why he had not been able to dodge that blow. Thawne had even walked up to him and set his arms back to deliver the blow, yet it seemed like he had lost all survival instincts as he let that blow connect.


    Hearing the footsteps of the blonde-haired man getting closer, Isiah stood up with a disapproving look on his face. Just because he wanted their help in taking revenge didn¡¯t mean he would tolerate these insults.


    The ferocious and disapproving look was noticed by Tawney and the other youths behind him and it caused quite a reaction. Like they had just seen the most blasphemous thing in the world, like fanatics that had just looked upon a piece of heresy.


    The look Isiah gave Thawne was a look of disapproval and defiance. This look awakened the collective instinct to dominate within them, an instinct so violent and aggressive that they had special lessons on how to control it.


    All the youths, including Thawne, took a unique step forward. The ground cracked in multiple places as all the youths disappeared from their positions in a flash of light.


    Isiah¡¯s eyes widened as he saw all the youths coming at him as different colored streaks of light. All of them shot at his position, arms pulled back for an attack and their auras suffocating the grass beneath them.


    Even though he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything much about it, he still set up a space barrier around himself while raising his hands up instinctively to cover his face.


    *BOOM!*


    The ground exploded into multiple chunks and dust rose into the air. The sound was so loud that the large slave rats who were busy doing their work on the other side of the shuttle looked over to see what was happening.


    "FOCUS ON YOUR WORK!" 27, the supervisor of the slaves shouted at them. But even he looked over, rubbing his fingers on his naked saggy skin while thinking to himself.


    Isiah opened his eyes to discover that his body was not in pain, he was fine and okay and he couldn¡¯t feel anything wrong with his body. This was surprising.


    The power of fourteen tier 3 lions, even in humanoid forms, was not something to joke about. Not to mention they all stroked out at once.


    Isaiah looked around to see a red shimmering barrier surrounding him and his own transparent spatial barrier. Beneath his feet was an array of complex magic patterns and formations.


    "XU YING! YOU PROTECT THIS INSOLENT BASTARD!" Adolf shouted at the top of his voice as his flaming fist still pressed on the red barrier, seeking tirelessly to break it apart and turn this Isiah into crisp meat.


    Xu Ying, who had been overlooking their interactions with the visitor from behind, waved his hand while saying, "Bah, even I am offended.


    But don¡¯t forget that the inhabitants of this world may have no knowledge about who we are or what we represent. It is up to us to teach them.


    You guys aren¡¯t used to taking no for an answer from other creatures. Many creatures of this world will disrespect us without knowing it, simply because they do not know who we are."


    Alora¡¯s blue eyes stared straight into the green eyes of Isaiah. She didn¡¯t show any expression of anger, rather, she acted like someone trying to eliminate a future threat.


    The red barrier expanded and pushed the youths away against their will.


    "Do you all intend to crush every single thing that raises its head at you?" Xu Ying asked, shaking his head at how immature these ones were.


    To his question, the youths didn¡¯t answer. It wasn¡¯t because they did not intend to crush whoever defied them, it was that they did not have the ability to do so.


    "Come bird, do you have a name?" Xu Ying didn¡¯t apologize for the previous bullying from Thawne and the attempt on his life from Alora, he didn¡¯t see anything wrong with it.


    Isaiah shivered in fright, never had he been so close to instant death in all his life. And despite his fear, he was clear-headed enough to understand the horror of this man that they called Xu Ying.


    This blue-clothed man had casually blocked the attacks of fourteen tier 3 lions at once. And he wasn¡¯t even defending himself, but another person. Isaiah now knew who he had to focus on.


    "My name is Isiah," Isiah said.


    "Isaiah, good name. You seem to be familiar with these ones, have you perhaps seen us before?" Xu Ying asked with an analytical gaze.


    Isiah was elated that Xu Ying brought this up, he had been thinking of a way to start a conversation about lions without letting them know his true intentions.


    "Yes, I have met your kind before, just as dangerous as you guys are." Isiah didn¡¯t know much about lions but he knew that they were predators who had a deep sense of pride.


    Calling them dangerous would only be seen as flattery.


    Just as he thought, the youths and Xu Ying had their expressions relaxed when Isaiah said this.


    "Just as dangerous as us? So they are as strong as we are?" Chloe asked.


    "I don¡¯t know¡­" Isaiah said, acting like he wasn¡¯t sure. Of course, he knew that the Kael¡¯s forces would not stand a chance against these foreigners, he was just lying.


    He wanted Xu Ying and the youths to perceive Kael as a threat, rather than someone they could converse with on higher ground. Only that way would they go after him with their full force.


    But maybe he assumed too much and didn¡¯t expect the reply he got.


    "So there are lions in this world? That confirms it, then." Xu Ying said with a thoughtful gaze as he looked at Isiah.


    "Come, Isiah, I want you to tell me all about these lions that you know¡­" Xu Ying said as he walked back to the magic shuttle.


    The door latch opened up and some stairs arranged themselves leading up to the door.


    Isiah hesitated for a moment, not sure if he should follow. The youths no longer tried to attack him, they just stared. Perhaps, if he refuses to follow Xu Ying, they may try to kill him again.


    He never knew that the bullying nature of lions was a universal thing and not just restricted to Kael and his group.


    ¡¯I¡¯ve already started, besides if he wants to kill me, I doubt he needs to resort to any trickery.¡¯ With that thought, Isiah walked over naked to meet Xu Ying.


    Xu Ying¡¯s smile widened when he saw this, without wasting much time, he led Isaiah to the insides of the magic shuttle.


    Meanwhile, Kael recovered in the presence of his lionesses, currently unaware of the schemes against him.

 Chapter 121: Recovery

    Inside one of the many caves that had been spared the destruction of the earth-shaking battle.


    Kael sat motionlessly, in his humanoid form, on a reclined chair made of soft vines and pink flower petals. His arms rested on the elevated armrests beside the chair.


    His back pressed the back of the chair and his head was resting at the top, causing his vision to be raised slightly to the stone ceiling.


    He took in a deep breath, his broad chest expanding and restricting in the process. Even as he sat there naked, he didn¡¯t feel any sense of shame, just as he had been for a long time now.


    His lion rod lay flaccid in between his legs even though he was currently staring at a naked beauty.


    His eyes were half closed, only allowing a bit of the golden shimmer to escape from the gap his eyelids allowed.


    As he half sat and half lay on this chair, something could be noticed about him, something different. Anyone who had seen Kael before could tell that there was something off about him now, like he had become less familiar.


    For starters, his face. His hair, which had previously been falling straight to his neck had now employed a thicker visage, standing slightly to the side like messy golden hair. It was unclear if his hair was like this due to the tussle and rumble or if it was actually changing its texture on the go.


    But the golden hair wasn¡¯t the only thing. His eyebrows, which had previously been just as golden as his hair, had changed color. Now, they appeared darker and less golden. They had become sharp and their edges stretched further to the side.


    They pointed down at an angle that just made Kael look way more serious than he already was. With the way they were, if Kael frowned, it would cause the hearts of onlookers to beat in trepidation.


    His nose has become more perfect like he had just done a nose job, its arrow shape becoming more apparent from any angle it was observed.


    His jaws, which had already been sharp and powerful to begin with, had become sharper. However, this could not be observed in detail because of the dark gold beard covering the sides and mouth area of his face.


    Overall, Kael now had the face of someone human women would wet themselves for. He had become the type of person that gay men would chase after with all their might and the kind that would gather the hatred of a lot of married men.


    It was safe to say that he could probably turn a lesbian into a straight woman with just a smile, highly questionable but the probability was not zero. He was just too handsome.


    The people who could match this face bar for bar are very rare and most of them are Primordials, lion or not.


    Unfortunately, not many creatures in this blood-soaked and violence-ridden forest would be able to appreciate such an appearance.


    But his face wasn¡¯t the only change, his size had also been altered. Kael had previously been standing at more than six feet tall ever since he got his humanoid form. Among humans from his previous words, he would definitely be considered a really tall man.


    But now, he had gotten taller, and bigger. Even as he lay on the chair, his body took up all the space, filling in the blanks like a giant. His height has increased to seven feet, the same as Darius before his death.


    But he was more muscular than Darius had been, his muscles were big but not to the point that it made him grotesque.


    As he subconsciously took in deep breaths, his pectoral muscles vibrated in a mesmerizing manner, causing one to wonder how it felt to carry such organs of might in the chest.


    His golden fingernails dug into the vine armrest, the only part of his body that was currently able to move with his consent being his fingers.


    Kael felt numb all over. He couldn¡¯t move his arms, legs, or neck, he felt paralyzed. He could feel how his insides were desperately trying to fix the damage the red-capped mushrooms had done to him.


    From the vine chair he sat on, vitality slowly flowed into his body, assisting in the natural healing process in whatever way it could.


    Nalii sat close to him in her lion form, her large figure silently watching over him with judgemental eyes.


    "Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine." Kael managed to speak telepathically. As his body recovered, he slowly gained some of his motor skills.


    Nalii wanted to say something, anything to chastise her son for his recklessness. But she knew he wasn¡¯t reckless, even though his actions made it look so.


    She wanted to scold him for using those red-capped mushrooms. He didn¡¯t just use one, but two at the same time. Not to mention it was apparently his first time using it.


    Even if she scolded Kael, it was for nothing, he had succeeded. He managed to kill a tier-four Tiger.


    When she watched the fight previously, as the scale of the battle unfolded and destroyed everything in their way, she was thankful that Kael had actually taken the red-capped mushrooms.


    If he didn¡¯t, Kael would have died a very horrible death without having the chance to fight back.


    But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that two red-capped mushrooms were just not enough to have been able to challenge Darius to the extent he did. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Something else had been at play there, she just knew it. In the middle of the battle, she had this strange guy feeling that the person fighting Darius was no longer her son but something else entirely.


    The energy and attributes she had felt within the mushrooms just didn¡¯t add up to the might Kael had displayed in that fight.


    He had been successful and had defeated the enemy, clearing all future obstacles, yes. But she still had her doubts.


    She couldn¡¯t put her paw on it as it turned over and over in her mind, causing her to become more confused as she thought about it. But she refrained from asking Kael about it, what she wanted was for him to recover as fast as possible.


    Her horns glowed slightly as she directed the vine chair to transfer more vitality into Kael¡¯s body.


    Only Kael knew what was going on in his body, but his own understanding was also severely limited.


    Just like he always did, he reminisced about the battle he had, every detail was replayed in his mind with utter clarity.


    From the very first punch to the last claw strike, he reversed and reversed until he arrived at a very strange scene.


    He remembered the moment he was at the top of the mountain, finding that one mushroom would not be enough for him to fight Darius, he had devoured the other one.


    His acquisition of the second mushroom was purely due to orchestrated luck. If Darius had been mindful and had taken the fight seriously from the beginning, there was no way Kael would have been able to snatch the mushroom from his hand.


    Upon devouring the mushroom, Kael had felt so many metaphorical chains in his body shatter. It was as if there had always been a lock on what he could do and the mushrooms simply helped him break it.


    As soon as the lock was broken, his body changed. He felt the memories of the Primordial lions coming up to the surface, threatening to tear down his sense of identity.


    He didn¡¯t let it happen, he let the memories come to the surface but he didn¡¯t let them take over him. He entered a strange state, a very strange one that would be hard to describe with mortal words.


    He had felt himself becoming the previous Primordial Lions, yet at the same time, he was aware that he wasn¡¯t them. It was like he was neither here nor there, just in between two worlds.


    He looked at everything with a gaze of unfamiliarity, like an ancient being just waking up, yet he was able to recognize who and what was where.


    The temporary fusion of the identities of the previous Primordial Lions with his own conciseness seemed to reprogram his being, both in mind and body.


    Kael didn¡¯t just feel the years of skills that they had gotten, he felt his body taunt with power. He had felt that if he went further down this intoxicating path, he would be able to tear the sky with a claw.


    This new sense of self acted as though this wasn¡¯t the first time this had happened, yet it acted a bit surprised that it existed in an unfamiliar way. Almost as if the previous Primordial Lions didn¡¯t understand how whatever was happening could be possible.


    However, despite the strange concoction of confusion and clarity, this new being that had taken over or perhaps merged with Kael¡¯s conciseness did not forget its purpose, its instincts, its duty, and its creed.


    ¡¯The Conqueror Mode¡­¡¯


    It had called itself, a mysterious yet obvious name for such an entity. Amidst the chaos happening within its mind, it didn¡¯t forget that the conquering must begin.


    And so it directed all its agitation and irritation at the massive tiger in front of it. The tiger had refused to be conquered, it stood in the way of something so crucial to its existence that the only way to cleanse its mind of such heretic offense was the satisfaction of bestowing death.

 Chapter 122: The Loot

    The power that the Conqueror Mode came with was different from what the mushrooms delivered.


    Whereas the mushrooms provided him with raw and violent energy, upgrading his body beyond the limit, the Conqueror Mode did something different yet somehow similar.


    Compared to the effects of the mushrooms, the Conqueror Mode came with a certain level of clarity. It enhanced his overall strength, overwhelming all the effects of the mushrooms with its own, but the enhancement was calm and fluid, not aggressive.


    Kael saw the conqueror mode as a new ability he could add to his arsenal. But since he was still in recovery mode, he didn¡¯t try to experiment with it at all, at least not yet.


    ¡¯Maybe there are other powers that are specific to the Primordial Lion¡­¡¯ Kael was thinking when something occurred to him.


    ¡¯What did it mean to be a Primordial Lion?¡¯ He asked himself while closing his eyes.


    The more he observed his golden figure, the more he felt like the word ¡¯primordial¡¯ was just too simple.


    When he had been in the Conqueror Mode, he felt that he had gained a certain level of connection to something ethereal, something beyond the material world.


    If he could use a mortal world to describe it, he would say that he had been connected to a Law, one of the building blocks of the universe.


    But this was just a connection, not actual control.


    Many questions ran through Kael¡¯s mind but he refrained from thinking too much about it, there were other things to do, especially now that three of his lionesses had attained tier 3 and could have a human form.


    Kael¡¯s eyes glanced at the two figures who were with him in the cave. Close to him was Nalii in her lion form, she attended to the vine chair, ensuring Kael¡¯s speedy recovery.


    Then close to the entrance of the cave was Eidel, standing guard in her naked human form.


    She faced the entrance, staring into the vast land and the expanse of broken trees below. Her heart-shaped buttocks shook slightly when she leaned against the wall.


    Kael lost a bit of control as his lion rod twitched slightly. Nalii, ever vigilant to any change in Kael¡¯s body, noticed this.


    Her green eyes locked on the fleshy and veiny rod with focus and interest. Then she looked up to lock eyes with Kael¡¯s.


    Even as Kael rested with his eyes half closed, they still couldn¡¯t hide the passion that threatened to burst out of those eye holes.


    "Kael son, is anything the matter?" Nalii asked. Her eyes were teasing as she waited for Kael¡¯s clumsy answer.


    She knew what Kael wanted.


    Kael was about to respond when a noise came from outside the cave.


    "I wish to see the King," The voice of Commander Bibi, borrowing the power of a nearby spirit wolf, spoke to Eidel.


    "I also wish to see the King." Vixy¡¯s telepathic voice also resounded from the entrance.


    "The king rests, you should all wait for his recovery," Eidel said, her voice form and her stance unmoving.


    Her fiery eyes stared down at the muscular wolf and the red fox, contemplating about something.


    The muscular wolf stood beside a spirit wolf while the red fox stood with two other foxes, one white and one red.


    "But the matters are important," Bibi said, insistent on speaking with Kael at the moment.


    Eidel frowned as the temperature around her rose slightly. Bibi began to feel the heat and could not help but take some steps back.


    Vixy simply stepped back without saying anything, but she didn¡¯t leave. She too had something to tell Kael, it would be bad if Kael blamed them later for not speaking up on time


    "Let them in," Kael spoke into Eidel¡¯s mind, only then did she step back and make way for the two creatures to enter.


    "Only the two of them, the rest of you can wait here," Eidel commanded, her two tails swishing from left to right as she stared down at the other wolf and foxes that dared to enter.


    The wolf and two foxes could only step back with dejected expressions, they wanted to see the King that had killed that monster.


    Bibi and Vixy walked into the cave with cautious expressions. When they didn¡¯t see the rest of the lionesses inside the cave, they breathed a sigh of relief. Vixy was especially thankful that Katari and N¡¯bay¨¦ were not here.


    "Vixy, Commander Bibi, you have news for me I presume?" Kael¡¯s deep voice sounded in their minds, startling them at how masculine it had gotten, a bit different from before.


    They stared at the humanoid form that rested lazily in the vine chair with Nalii standing beside him.


    His body wasn¡¯t moving except for his fingers which had started tapping on the armrests.


    "Yes, Your Majesty." Bibi was the first to talk. He paused, waiting for Kael¡¯s permission to continue.


    "You may proceed," Kael said calmly.


    "Your Majesty, the casualties of this battle were by no means small," Bibi started.


    "First of all, of the close to one hundred and fifty warriors that joined this fight, nearly half of them are dead." He stated.


    "Hmm," Kael didn¡¯t react visually to these words, only humming while he tapped his fingers on the armrests, playing a rhythm that was familiar only to him.


    "There will always be casualties. I¡¯m more concerned about the enemies you fought, are they all dead?" Kael¡¯s words were like a blow to Bibi¡¯s psyche.


    Kael didn¡¯t care about the lives of the wolves, he had merely been thinking wishfully. He had hoped that perhaps, Kael would show some form of concern for his soldiers.


    "Yes, Your Majesty, most of the enemies we encountered on the mountain are dead. However, we have one who has been forced into unconsciousness by N¡¯bay¨¦.


    We don¡¯t know what to do with him."


    Kael went silent again, thinking of N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s reason for not killing this enemy. Then he remembered that he had mentioned the possibility of subjugating one of the mountain kings.


    ¡¯Maybe she took it seriously,¡¯ He thought.


    "Leave it there then, have her keep the creature until I¡¯m in the mood to look at it," Kael commanded.


    Bibi nodded, he had said all he had to say but he didn¡¯t leave, he couldn¡¯t, not empty-handed.


    Kael, of course, was not oblivious to the thoughts of Bibi. All kings had to treat their generals in a certain way to ensure their loyalty, Kael was no exception.


    He looked at Vixy and asked, "Did you prepare the stacks of meat like we discussed?"


    "Yes, Your Majesty," Vixy answered.


    "Then hand it all to the wolves after you leave this place." Kael declared.


    "All of it?" Vixy asked, shocked. Bibi felt his heartbeat speed up. From Vixy¡¯s expression, he assumed that the meat stack was going to be a lot.


    "Yes, all of it. Brave soldiers deserve rewards." Kael said.


    Bibi immediately bowed his head, "Thank you, my King, I and the wolves are truly grateful." He said with a loud voice.


    Kael simply nodded, finding the energy to now move his neck. He was gradually recovering his strength faster than he predicted.


    "King Kael, the root of the battle¡­" Vixy said at this point.


    "Ah yes, I hope little was destroyed during the chaos?" The golden-haired humanoid asked. Only now had his interest been awakened.


    Vixy, seeing the light glimmer in Kael¡¯s eyes, was very satisfied. She felt like she would soon know the kind of things that made Kael happy, if that happened, then her position would be secure.


    "Actually, me and my foxes were able to gather all the loot we could find. And from our scouts, there are no damaged bodies behind.


    We counted a total of fifteen high-power bodies as well as thirty low-powered bodies¡­"


    As Vixy began to recount and give account for all the things she recorded, her three tails swung mesmerizingly, albeit without her doing it intentionally.


    Kael listened with rapt attention, not willing to pull his mind away from whatever distraction surfaced in his mind. As sheisted the specific types of animals that had died, Kael¡¯s fingers tapped faster on the armrest, a sign of his growing excitement.


    The profits of the battle far outweighed the losses. Kael was already thinking of what he would do with these spoils of war.


    "...Should I bring them to you?" After Vixy finished telling Kael what she accounted for, she asked this question.


    Bibi began to wag his tail uncontrollably. He had listened to everything and he didn¡¯t even know what to say. The wolves had really contributed a lot to the success of this battle.


    Although they had the superiority of the lionesses backing them, it didn¡¯t change the fact that they had helped.


    "No," Kael said, shaking his head. "Once I¡¯m done resting I¡¯ll check it and distribute it all by myself."


    Vixy¡¯s body shook, same with Commander Bibi. What did he mean by ¡¯distribute.¡¯


    Suddenly, Bibi could see one of his long-forgotten dreams within reach, the dream of evolving and becoming a tier 3 wolf. Finally, that dream could come to reality because of Kael.


    But he tried his best not to show his excitement, still having some doubts about what Kael wanted to actually do with the loot. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 123: Nalii’s Noise-Cancellation

    Vixy and Kael discussed where the loot should be kept in the meantime and Kael decided that he would be able to check the loots the next day.


    The whole battle only started in the morning and ended in the morning too, although a few hours passed. So now, it was currently afternoon and the hot sun hung above the forest.


    Kael estimated that by the coming evening, he would have recovered enough to move his limbs and regain a bit of his strength and stamina. But he would rather that he checked everything the next day.


    Plus, he was sure he would have the stamina to do the ¡¯thing¡¯ he wanted to do that night.


    As they were rounding up their talk, Commander Bibi picked up a familiar scent and color seemed to drain from his eyes. His ears fell as an act of submission and his limbs trembled slightly.


    "Your Majesty, if that is all I would be taking my leave!" He hurriedly said as he turned around to leave the cave.


    Vixy was confused as her sense of smell was good but definitely not as good as a wolf¡¯s. Soon, she also perceived that familiar scent, and her eyes shook.


    This was a scent that was hard to notice unless the owner was intentionally not hiding it. She had been privileged to perceive this scent in the past when she had been dangerously close to Katari.


    ¡¯Katari is here¡­¡¯ Vixy seemed like she was about to faint. Indeed Katari¡¯s reputation preceded her.


    There was also a rumor that she had taken on the giant bird called Isiah as soon as she woke up from her evolutionary slumber. Not only did she manage to hold the bird down, she even took the fight to the sky.


    As far as they were concerned, Katari did not possess any wings. What sorcery had she performed?


    "King Kael, I too would be taking my leave," Vixy said as she also turned around and chased after Commander Bibi.


    Kael, seeing this, just smiled. They didn¡¯t even ask for his permission to leave, they were clearly more fearful of Katari than they were of him.


    He too had already perceived Katari¡¯s scent and knew that she was nearby. The fact that he could even smell her presence was weird as that was a rarity in itself


    He wasn¡¯t dissatisfied by their reaction toward Katari when compared to him, he was in fact more satisfied. He liked it when those under him were proving to be of use without even doing anything.


    Just as the muscular grey wolf and the red fox were about to leave the entrance of the cave, space twisted as a large lioness suddenly appeared beside Eidel.


    Eidel didn¡¯t seem to be surprised, she had already been conversing with her pride sister telepathically before the latter decided to reveal herself.


    The calmness Eidel exuded was a steal contrast to the reaction of Commander Bibi and Madam Vixy.


    Commander Bibi peed on himself, literally. His tail went in between his legs and his head was lowered to the ground with the tip of his nose almost touching the floor. Your journey continues on FreeNovelFire


    His limbs shook fiercely as if he was finding it difficult to stand. His eyes faced forward, locked on the massive paws of this lioness that was so close to him. He did not dare to look up.


    Vixy outrightly collapsed, her three tails which were usually up and wavy went limp and lay on the side with her.


    It wasn¡¯t just the sight of Katari that scared these two, it was the strange aura that was constantly around Katari that frightened them.


    Katari for obvious yet elusive reasons, was emitting killing intent. Even as she stood there without claws or fangs bared, the vibe she gave off was that of a predator about to pounce.


    Her brownish-yellow eyes were as calm as a serene lake. Even Kael who looked at her felt his heart race.


    "No one is allowed to disturb King Kael till further notice, is that clear?" Katari spoke to them with a gentle voice.


    Bibi and Vixy could not even answer back telepathically, they were only able to nod their heads so hard that they almost snapped their necks.


    "Sorry for blocking your path," Katari said, stunning both the wolf and the fox, as well as Nalii, Eidel, and Kael.


    After saying that, Katari stepped out of the way, her large body moving gracefully into the cave and walking past the two caste leaders.


    Once they felt that the killing intent was no longer directed at them, the wolf and the fox rushed out of the cave.


    They didn¡¯t even wait behind to tell their followers what happened, they just ran. Their followers could only follow after them with confusion painting their furry faces.


    Katari walked deep into the cave to stand in front of Kael. Seeing his resting body, she finally revealed a look of worry.


    "Are you¡­" She began.


    "I¡¯ll be fine, don¡¯t worry," Kael said with a smile on his face. He tried to raise his arm to touch her furry face but it only rose a few inches before falling.


    Katari felt the needles stabbing into her heart, but she didn¡¯t know what she could do to alleviate Kael from this.


    "Forget about me, I¡¯ll be fine. What about that bird, Isiah, he took Darius¡¯s corpse didn¡¯t he?" Kael asked.


    Katari straightened her shoulders before answering, "We managed to chase him away without much of a fight, it¡¯s a pity we couldn¡¯t kill him and add his body to the loot."


    "Oh, too bad. But what about Darius¡¯s corpse." Kael could worry about Isaiah later, right now, the corpse of that tier 4 tiger was important.


    "N¡¯bay¨¦ has taken it for safekeeping. Do you want me to tell her to bring it?" Katari asked.


    Kael breathed a sigh of relief, at least they got the corpse. "No, I¡¯ll handle that tomorrow too. For now, I just want to rest and maybe do something to you guys later in the evening¡­"


    Kael¡¯s voice turned lustful at the end of his sentence and Katari¡¯s body shook slightly. Eidel also turned around to look at Kael with strange eyes.


    Nalii observed this with a more mature look but even she had her mind shaken and multiple scenarios passed through her mind.


    The three of them who had taken a month to evolve to tier 3 all coincidentally happened to be in the same cave at the same time, alone with Kael.


    "I haven¡¯t seen your human forms, but I¡¯ve seen Eidel¡¯s, that¡¯s right. Care to show me?" Kael said.


    Eidel fully turned around at this point, she didn¡¯t want to leave her post to prevent intruders from entering, but she also wanted to see Nalii and Katari¡¯s true form too.


    Katari and Nalii blinked as they looked at each other. They could feel that transforming into their humanoid forms was just a matter of will.


    But they could also feel that this transformation would come with their powers being limited to a certain level, this was just not comfortable for someone like Katari who felt that she needed to be at her best at all times.


    "Can you transform?" Kael asked, seeing that they were just looking a bit perplexed.


    "Yes, I can." Nalii was the first to respond.


    She walked to the side to stand in front of Kael and beside Katari. Katari and Kael looked at her, waiting for her to move.


    Nalii¡¯s body began to shift and change before their eyes. It started with a twitch, then a twist, and then there was the sound of bones being broken and dislocated.


    Kael and Katari could see from the movement over Nalii¡¯s skin how the bones dislocated and rearranged themselves, some growing longer and others growing shorter.


    The green fur on her body began to retreat into her skin, leaving behind a pale skin that was slowly turning into a fair tan color.


    Her shoulders began to break down before they adjusted themselves to face the sides of her body and the breasts on her abdomen disappeared until there were only two left.


    Her large lion paws stretched and turned crooked, twisting and elongating until what replaced them were two feminine hands.


    She adjusted her body so that she could stand upright as she was no longer feeling comfortable walking on all fours.


    Her tail became slightly shorter and her hind legs also readjusted to look like that of human legs.


    Finally, her face pressed on itself until it had turned into the face of a human woman. Fair tan skin that was as smooth as polished stone, with wavy brownish-green hair that fell below her shoulders, and bright green eyes that seemed to pierce into the very soul of whoever she was looking at.


    On her head, the two antlers remained, black with green veins running around it. Her legs were fine and almost hairless, Kael noticed that her laps were particularly large and plumpy. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For some reason, looking at those thighs reminded him of noise-cancellation headphones. He could just imagine putting his head in between those two laps and falling asleep.


    Suddenly, the lion rod in between his legs became erect.

 Chapter 124: Perverted Fantasies

    Nalii¡¯s face was very beautiful, not exactly the best but still considered one of the best when placed among human women. Kael guessed that all lions looked above average in their humanoid forms.


    She looked a bit like Kael, sharing a mix of his Earthly Middle Eastern looks with that of Anglo-Saxon. However, she looked to be in her middle or late forties, looking very mature and level-headed compared to the others.


    Kael instantly noticed the motherly aura that she was having around her. The way her eyes softly gazed upon Kael, the way her body moved, the way her forehead squeezed due to both worry and maturity. The motherly aura was there, and she was still Kael¡¯s biological mother.


    Kael¡¯s eyes hung about her hip, acknowledging how wide they were. She had the type of hips that towels could be hung on without the fear of falling, something a lot of women could only wish for secretly but never have.


    There was a bit of belly fat above her crotch area, something Kael didn¡¯t care about upon glancing at it. Then as his eyes continued to observe, he took in the full view of those two mounds on her chest.


    Compared to N¡¯bay¨¦¡¯s or Eidel¡¯s, Nalii¡¯s breasts were certainly bigger. To Kael, Nalii¡¯s breasts would be considered just right and moderate if it was on earth, being big but definitely not the largest. But here in this savage world, Nalii¡¯s breasts were the biggest he had ever seen.


    Looking at her body from thigh to shoulder, Nalii would be considered a beauty anywhere. But the most alluring part about her was the maturity and motherly aura that she was emitting, there was something about it that made Kael¡¯s perverted fantasies play out repeatedly in his head.


    After observing her green and brown-haired mother of his, he shifted his focus to Katari. After all, he could see but he could not touch, he might as well see everything now while his body was slowly recovering.


    Katari, feeling Kael¡¯s gaze on her, flinched. She had seen the way Kael looked at his mother, it was the same look she had seen him giving N¡¯bay¨¦ when the latter was in her humanoid form.


    ¡¯Would he look at me the same way too?¡¯ She asked herself.


    Taking a deep breath, she too commenced her transformation.


    Her bones began to snap and rearrange themselves just like she had seen on Nalii. Her fur retrieved into her skin which gradually turned fairly white in complexion.


    She raised her front limbs as they transformed so that she could stand upright. Her brownish-yellow eyes remained, as sharp as ever.


    By the time she had finished transforming, she could feel that some sort of limiter had been placed in her body and she could only release one-third of her full power right now.


    However, she also saw the way Kael now looked at her. His gaze was peculiar, as though he was surprised yet very well interested in her body.


    Kael, who was looking at Katari, was actually a bit surprised. When it came to body proportions, Katari had them in the right places. Her breasts were just the right size for someone like her who could move around a lot.


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    She was on the slim side, not having as much body fat compared to N¡¯bay¨¦ or Nalii, being closer to Eidel.


    In short, she had an athletic build, some abs, strong shoulders, and a powerful stance.


    As she stood there, she also satisfied one of Kael¡¯s tastes in women, not that he had any specific taste to begin with.


    What truly got Kael confused was Katari¡¯s face.


    Katari had monolid eyes, small lips that pressed against each other, an oval face, a straight nose, a healthy skin tone, and straight black hair falling down her head until it stopped below her shoulders.


    If placed on Earth, Katari would easily blend in with the people of China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Mongolia, and the rest. Some would call her Oriental, some would say she is Eastern.


    ¡¯Now that I think about it, Katari sounds like a Japanese word, but I¡¯m the one that gave her that name, I don¡¯t even know what it means.¡¯ Kael mused to himself, wondering how coincidental it was. Or was it?


    Kael didn¡¯t think too much about it though, he simply appreciated her looks. Kael had never been a man who judged people based on race or skin color, especially the women, yes, the women especially.


    If not for restrictions, even Kael had fantasies about different kinds of women from different parts of the world. Unfortunately for him, society told him to settle for one woman only and that didn¡¯t still work out well for him. But that¡¯s in the past.


    No, he got to explore it all in another world.


    He only wondered how Katari had such a look when she was his step-sister, different mothers but they were supposed to have the same father, unless¡­


    ¡¯Ooooh!¡¯ Realization finally hit Kael as he guessed Katari¡¯s true birth origin, but he didn¡¯t say or act any differently.


    ¡¯No wonder her mother readily abandoned her and was way too willing to have children with the Pride leader. Katari wasn¡¯t legitimate.


    That meant Katari wasn¡¯t actually his stepsister either. ¡¯Ah, life has given me lemons,¡¯ Kael¡¯s thoughts swirled around different dirty things but his face was calm.


    Kael¡¯s lion rod was already fully erect, Nalii and Katari stared at it in wonder.


    "Do you want to suck it?" Kael asked. His eyes fiercely looked at them as he waited for their response.


    He wasn¡¯t thinking straight for the moment unfortunately as hot blood constantly rushed to his groin.


    Katari opened her mouth, forming an ¡¯o¡¯ as though she wanted to speak. This act of hers revealed her long and sharp lion fangs hidden inside her delicate mouth, something Kael had forgotten about.


    All of them, even in their humanoid forms, still retained some of their sharp fangs. Kael¡¯s eyes widened as he discovered his blunder.


    Nalii stepped forward, not answering but taking action. However, Katari, who was unwilling to lose this second chance to be intimate with Katari, was faster.


    Before Kael could react, Katari had already gotten on her knees, shoving Nalii slightly, a little aggressive. Nalii could only back away with a wry smile after she heard the threatening growl coming from Katari¡¯s mouth. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I will suck it," Katari said, not even asking for confirmation before bringing her mouth close to Kael¡¯s rod.


    Kael was stuck in between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, he wanted a blowjob, on the other hand, he was very frightened of what those sharp teeth could do to his little brother.


    After too much thinking, before he could make his decision, Katari had already wrapped her mouth around Kael¡¯s penis.


    Kael felt a jolt spread throughout his body, a feeling of pleasure he had not felt in a very long time.


    Time seemed to slow down as he tried to enjoy every moment of every second that came after that. He could feel the wet walls wrapped around his lion rod, he also felt a powerful sucking sensation that almost made him run mad with ecstasy.


    "Ouch," Kael suddenly said with the words coming from his mouth instinctively.


    The pleasure was suddenly accompanied by pain, a weird mix that he didn¡¯t understand at first.


    Katari still had the spiked tongue that most lions had, except now that she was in her human form, it wasn¡¯t as hard as it should be. It only caused Kael to feel a tickling sensation along the sides of his shaft.


    But there were also four piercing sensations that he felt from Katari¡¯s mouth. Her fangs were already touching his rod and sweat trickled down his head, he didn¡¯t dare move a muscle.


    "Katari!" Kael called to her telepathically. Katari responded by stopping her movements and raising her head to look at Kael with her phoenix eyes, his dick still in her mouth.


    "Don¡¯t use your teeth," Kael said, as gently as possible while trying to prevent his face from mirroring his perilous state of mind.


    "Oh, okay," Katari said as she sharply adjusted to make sure her teeth weren¡¯t touching Kael. She resumed her sucking actions, giving Kael the feeling he was ascending to heaven.


    He wanted to hold Katari¡¯s head, push her black hair to the side, and guide her properly but his shoulder joints were still not moving yet. He could only watch and enjoy as Katari sucked him clumsily.


    Nalii and Eidel watched in amazement as Katari performed this action. So this was the type of thing Kael liked?


    Nalii was a bit experienced with sex but that was a long time ago when she was just an ordinary lioness. Eidel was a complete novice who was way too eager to try out many things with Kael.


    Kael looked at Nalii¡¯s expression of interest, then he glanced at her antlers. Suddenly a very perverted thought snuck its way into his mind and refused to leave. It was so perverted that Kael felt ashamed.


    He could only calm his restless mind as he decided to wait till later in the evening to try out what he was thinking of.

 Chapter 125: Turn By Turn

    Katari continued sucking on the lion rod, oblivious to the time passing. All that concerned her was to please her Kael, even if it took as much time as possible.


    Katari, having the physique of a human but being very much enhanced, could easily perform superhuman activities.


    For her, giving a blowjob that lasted for more than an hour was not tiring. She could go on for much longer if Kael allowed her.


    The sudden release of hot spunk into her mouth almost made her clench her jaws instinctively but she controlled herself.


    She looked up with her black eyes, analyzing Kael¡¯s satisfied expression. Kael had leaned his head back and his eyes were completely closed, enjoying the sensation of his favorite person sucking on his rod.


    "That¡¯s enough," Kael said lightly. Katari unwillingly removed her mouth after swallowing every last drop of lion spunk, she liked the taste and was interested in some more.


    She looked up at Kael with a pleading gaze, wondering if he was secretly dissatisfied.


    "It¡¯s Eidel¡¯s turn," Kael said, not registering Katari¡¯s look of plea.


    Eidel, who was standing by the cave entrance, heard Kael¡¯s words and looked over in surprise. Her legs however seemed to move on their own as she walked deeper into the forest until she stood beside Katari in front of Kael.


    "What about me?" Nalii asked, a confused lol masking her face. She had expected to be next to try this weird yet exhilarating activity of sucking, but Kael chose Eidel to be next.


    "Not yet dear¡­" Kael muttered, he opened his eyes to see Katari still crouched beside him, her palms on his lap and her eyes staring at him.


    "Katari¡­" Kael started, his voice rising to show his seriousness. Seeing, Katari could only get up begrudgingly and make way for Eidel.


    With nothing else to do, Katari walked to the cave entrance to take over Eidel¡¯s post and stand guard.


    Eidel immediately went to her knees, showing her eagerness to try what Katari had tried.


    Kael nodded for her to go ahead but did not forget to remind her, "Don¡¯t use your teeth,"


    Eidel nodded before lowering her head and opening her mouth wide to take in the large lion rod.


    Kael immediately noticed the difference between her and Katari. There was nothing particularly wrong with Katari¡¯s performance but it suddenly seemed ordinary compared to Eidel.


    For one, Eidel who always seems to have a high body temperature had this extended to her mouth. Kael felt his rod being engulfed in hot flesh and coated with warm saliva.


    It wasn¡¯t hot to the point that it hurt him, it was just the right temperature to give him a very unique sensation.


    The now soft and flexible spines on her tongue tickled Kael and gave him a feeling like no other.


    Eidel began to contract and expand her mouth muscles, bobbing her head as though that would make the experience better.


    Her red hair fell down to her face and began to obstruct her. She had to use one of her hands to push her hair back so that she could do what she was doing well. Read new chapters at NovelFire.C?m


    Kael frowned at the hot sensation that wrapped around his rod. There was just nothing that could be comparable to this feeling m, absolutely nothing.


    It was at this time that Kael¡¯s elbow joints started moving. He felt his arms, noticing the numbing feeling disappearing as his body was rapidly trying to heal itself.


    Without thinking too much about it, with his elbow still resting on the armrest, he moved his hand and placed his palm on Eidel¡¯s red hair.


    Eidel flinched, feeling the large hand gently caressing her head. It was Kael¡¯s hand so she had no reason to move away from it.


    She felt the hand try to apply gentle force on her as if to guide her on what to do. The hand pushed her down slowly, letting Kael¡¯s dick go deeper into her mouth and her throat. She began to choke as she tried to gag, but she didn¡¯t remove the lion rod from her mouth.


    This went on until Kael seemed to get impatient. He applied more force on Eidel¡¯s head, sending his rod deep into her hot mouth. Resisting the urge to groan, Kael closed his eyes again.


    Katari who watched this from the cave entrance frowned, noticing that Kael looked like he was enjoying it. He seemed to enjoy Eidel¡¯s actions more than hers.


    Katari¡¯s eyes fell on Eidel¡¯s figure, changing slightly in tone. Luckily no one saw the terrifying gaze she had directed at Eidel.


    After some time, Kael grabbed Eidel¡¯s head firmly, pushing her down and his rod going deeper into her throat. He grunted as he released his lion spunk into her mouth.


    Tasting the unfamiliar but wonderful and sweet substance in her mouth, Eidel drank it up. She sucked harder, licking the shaft until there was nothing but warm saliva left.


    "It¡¯s mother¡¯s turn," Kael said to Eidel. He felt strange having to refer to Nalii as mother in this situation but didn¡¯t dwell on the thought too much.


    By now, the afternoon was about to end and the sun would soon set to usher in the evening time. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Eidel reluctantly stepped away, she wanted to taste more of that sweet substance as she had not had enough of it.


    Eidel stepped aside for her mother, who with an air of maturity, went down to her knees in between Kael¡¯s muscular legs.


    Her antlers pointed upwards, the green veins on them glowing slightly for Kael to see.


    Nalii didn¡¯t seem to be shy about what she was about to do with her son. This would have been a normal thing either way if Kael had defeated his father and taken over the pride.


    She gently lowered her mouth down, her lips briefly wrapping around the tip before she slowly let it slide into her mouth. Her saliva mixed with Eidel¡¯s saliva that remained on the rod.


    She learned from the previous two, taking care not to use her teeth. Her face which was like that of a woman in her mid to late forties was smooth and flawless.


    Before she got started, with the rod still inside her mouth, she reached back to pack her greenish-brown hair behind her horn.


    The antlers served as a prop to hold back the hair from interrupting her activity. With that done, Nalii began to bob her head up and down her son¡¯s shaft.


    Her green tail swished from left to right behind her, and her breasts jiggled with every movement he made.


    Seeing Nalii enthusiastically sucking on his dick, Kael couldn¡¯t help but appreciate his life. He wished he could see the Highest Will again to thank him for the reincarnation with his memories.


    Time had passed and he could already feel his shoulders, he could move his arms and limbs but not to perfection not yet.


    As Nalii sucked his rod, something strange began to happen. Kael felt vitality surging into his body from Nalii. This was another effect that was different from what Katari or Eidel could give.


    He could feel the already healing injuries within his body heal faster, and the pleasure at followed it was heavenly.


    Kael subconsciously grabbed Nalii¡¯s horns, one in each hand. Nalii didn¡¯t protest to this but seemed to get more enthusiastic about it.


    She bobbed her head up and down and Kael somethings steered her head and guided her so that he could reach deep into her throat.


    Katari stood at the cave entrance and faced the forest, not willing to watch them anymore, while Eidel simply sat on the floor next to the wall, watching her mother and her brother with rapt attention.


    Almost two hours went by, Nalii¡¯s stamina allowed her to go at it nonstop and she wasn¡¯t even tired after so long.


    The strange healing properties of her sucking accelerated Kael¡¯s recovery and pushed him to a state where he could finally move and feel all his limbs.


    He gripped the two horns tightly, stabilizing Nalii and releasing his spunk into her mouth. Nalii drank everything as though she was thirsty.


    She finally understood why Eidel and Katari were so reluctant to let go and leave Kael¡¯s dick alone.


    Kael only smiled at their behavior, ¡¯It¡¯s not even inside them yet and they are already acting like this.¡¯


    Kael didn¡¯t tell Nalii to leave, instead, he pushed her head away until his dick popped out of her mouth.


    Nalii thought Kael was sending her away and was preparing to leave. But to the surprise of the three lionesses inside that cave, after pushing her head away, Kael rose from the vine chair.


    His legs were now working, and although he wasn¡¯t at the prime of his abilities, it was enough for him to stand and do other normal things.


    Katari looked back to see her King, standing there with bulging muscles and golden hair that covered his head. Kneeling before him was Nalii who was also getting ready to stand up.


    "It¡¯s time," Kael said with his lion rod still erect.

 Chapter 126: Impregnate

    Kael gestured for Nalii to stand up, which she did. Kael towered over Nalii¡¯s body, clearly taller than her.


    Nalii wasn¡¯t short though, she was even taller than N¡¯bay¨¦. Now that Kael thought about it, N¡¯bay¨¦ was the shortest lioness in human form even though she also stood at six feet in height.


    Eidel and Katari watched with rigged breathing and fierce eyes. The evening had arrived and Kael was finally able to move.


    Kael¡¯s hands reached up to caress his mother¡¯s face, rubbing his thumb over her cheeks and then brushing her lips.


    Nalii didn¡¯t flinch, she just locked her green eyes with Kael¡¯s golden eyes. She liked the sensation of Kael¡¯s palm rubbing her skin. It made her feel like electricity was passing through her body, giving a tingling sensation.


    Kael brought his hands down, one going to her waist and the other landing on her left breast.


    Using his left hand, he pulled Nalii closer causing her unsurprisingly wet crotch to rub on Kael¡¯s long and thick lion rod. The feeling of Kael¡¯s dick rubbing the wet flesh of her entrance caused an ecstasy she didn¡¯t know she could feel from down there.


    Meanwhile, Kael squeezed slightly, feeling the soft human breast in his right hand. Kael was even a bit emotional, realizing it had been a long time since he experienced this.


    After his second divorce, he just stopped trying. Even though he was good-looking, he had no money or status which were the materials needed to date most women of the modern era.


    He had even thought he would die without getting to feel the softness of a woman ever again.


    He did.


    Not willing to think too much about it, Kael continued squeezing. Allowing the soft flesh to give way under the pressure, he caused Nalii to release a sensual moan.


    ¡¯So she¡¯s sensitive there?¡¯ Kael thought, taking a mental note.


    He rubbed circles around her dark nipples, stimulating her aureola and causing her to feel as though small electricity was passing through her body.


    Kael lowered his head to the other breasts, with Nalii watching him with undisguised anticipation.


    His lips kissed upon her nipples gently, before he took everything into his mouth and began sucking slowly.


    His face pressed into her large blossom, sniffing the sexy aroma voraciously as though he wanted to drown in it. As he sucked on one nipple, he played with the other using his finger.


    Nalii opened her mouth, letting out a silent moan that grated in the ears of Eidel and Katari. Katari wasn¡¯t even hiding her frown anymore and there was a bit of killing intent flashing through her eyes.


    ¡¯My turn will come¡­¡¯ She continuously reassured herself. Even Katari didn¡¯t know she was capable of such jealousy, everything about her mental state was just¡­extreme.


    Nalii arched back, raising her head to the stone ceiling with her eyes closed, drowning in this intoxicating feeling. Her hands instinctively reached up to hold Kael¡¯s head.


    Her fingers swam through his golden hair and pressed him deeper into her chest. If she used the same strength she was applying to an ordinary creature, she would crush them into a bloody mess.


    Kael didn¡¯t resist, he kept on sucking. He sucked so hard that Nalii began to feel a bit of pain that mixed with the overwhelming pleasure.


    Of course, Nalii wasn¡¯t a mother or expecting any children so she wasn¡¯t lactating. Kael planned on doing something about that at the very moment.


    He removed his mouth from Nalii¡¯s breast, surprising her with his sudden withdrawal.


    Kael didn¡¯t say anything, instead, he guided her body to turn around so that he backed the cave entrance and she backed the vine chair.


    He spun her around, to which she did not resist. "Put your arms on the armrests." He said.


    Nalii mindlessly complied, resisting the urge to rub her legs together to overcome the tingling from her crotch area.


    She placed her two hands on the armrests, causing her plump butt to shoot out and rub against Kael¡¯s rod.


    Kael still adjusted her a bit so that her butt could shoot out better. Katari and Eidel watched with different levels of curiosity.


    Nalii waited, breathing heavily as if she was exhausted but that was just because of anticipation and anxiety.


    Kael placed his two large arms on her waist, his gaze landing on her greenish-brown hair and her two horns.


    He aligned his long, thick, and erect rod with her vagina, feeling the softness and firmness of her ass cheeks.


    Her green tail swerved to the side, Nalii didn¡¯t try to make things hard for Kael.


    As Nalii felt the tip graze upon the entrance of her vagina, her spine tingled. Only now did she ask herself if she would be able to take such a big rod.


    Kael didn¡¯t give her much time to think though, he slid his dick in slowly into her vagina.


    "Aah!" Nalii opened her mouth to moan as she felt the big rod expanding the insides of her cunt.


    Kael soaked himself in the feeling of having his mother¡¯s cunt wrapped around his dick. It was warm and he could feel that strange healing ability from Nalii activating again.


    He allowed himself to get accustomed to this feeling while he let Nalii¡¯s walls adjust to his size.


    Continue reading stories on FreeNovelFire


    After some seconds, he slowly pulled out, almost removing his entire dick from her cunt and causing Nalii to pay attention. Then without warning, he thrust sharply into her.


    "Ah!" Nalii¡¯s humanoid voice that came out as moans was divine to Kael¡¯s ears. Nalii had to grip the vine armrests, almost crushing it so that she could stabilize herself.


    Kael began to thrust in and out of Nalii, and the sounds of flesh slapping each other resounded through all the corners of the cave.


    His pelvis his Nalii¡¯s bubbly butt repeatedly, causing the ass cheeks to vibrate in a mesmerizing manner.


    Kael moved back and forth, holding her waist to keep her straight and to align his dick with her insides. Every thrust took him deep into her link chambers and every time he pulled out, there was a squelching sound from all the liquid that Nalii was releasing.


    Even then, Kael still felt that he had not reached the peak of his imagination yet. Eyeing her two horns Kael suddenly reached out to grab Nalii by the horns.


    Nalii was alarmed, Kael had grabbed her antlers, one in each of his strong hands. He held them close to the base, applying both carefulness and forcefulness at the same time.


    Kael held on to her antlers, dragging her head and arching her back in the process. The process of having sexual intercourse while holding her horn and bending her in such a manner was phenomenal. It was almost like riding a bike, almost.


    The feeling was so good that Kael immediately sped up his movements, ramming into his mother¡¯s cunt with a lot of force and causing squelching sounds to reach both Katari and Eidel¡¯s attentive ears.


    Kael continued with his penetrating movements for almost two hours. Nalii could no longer keep up with Eidel¡¯s stamina and her legs began to tremble.


    Feeling himself about to reach a climax, Kael released one of Nalii¡¯s horns and used his hand to prop up her waist, ensuring that he continued ramming her without her collapsing to the ground.


    Finally, Kael reached the tipping point, he slammed his pelvis against her bubbly buttocks, releasing a thick load of hot sperm into her body.


    Kael wasn¡¯t just trying to enjoy the moment, he was also trying to impregnate her. It was high time he expanded his bloodline anyway.


    Nalii felt the hot semen shooting into her womb and could not help but moan louder. Her legs quivered as she lost strength under the weight of her drained stamina and pleasure.


    Kael pulled out his cock and took his hands off Nalii, allowing the green-haired woman to finally collapse to the ground, exhausted.


    Kael stepped back, he turned his head to look at Eidel who was staring wide eyes at her mother. She had sat there on the floor, watching everything that happened from beginning to end. She had seen how her mother moaned loudly after each lound that Kael delivered.


    She was both scared and excited, after all, this would be her first time. She had only heard of how it felt, she had never experienced it firsthand before.


    "Lie down," Kael commanded as he walked over to Eidel¡¯s position.


    As if she had been put under a spell, Eidel instinctively lay down as she sensed the dominating presence of Kael getting closer.


    Kael approached and stood over her lying body. His eyes observed all the curves and bumps that decorated her light tan body. In return, Eidel stared at him with her red eyes, the anticipation evident.


    The king knelt and positioned himself by her legs. As he did this, soft vines slowly broke out of the stone ground and formed a flora bed under Eidel. Eidel did not protest.


    Kael took hold of her legs, beneath her kneecaps. He instantly felt the unnaturally high temperature she was always emitting and knew that this would be an ¡¯UnEarthly¡¯ experience. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 127 127: Burning Hot, Simpler Times

    Kael held Eidel''s legs and gently spread them apart, exposing her waiting cunt. Eidel raised her head to see Kael drawing closer with his large and erect cock pointing straight at her.


    Eidel complied, spreading her legs wider so that Kael would have easy access. She was excited as well as anxious, watching as Kael eyed the red pubic hair that matched her head hair


    Kael went closer, bringing his erect rod to Eidel''s hot virgin cunt. The tip touched her entrance and Kael felt the heat, a tingling sensation going up his body.


    As Eidel settled in her missionary pose, the tip of Kael''s dick pushed against the entrance of her vagina slowly going in with a barely audible watery sound.


    As it went in, Eidel gasped as she felt how big the cock was inside her, she had never had sex before, talk less of having something so big enter her. She experienced a brief moment of pain that was followed by overwhelming pleasure.


    This feeling was simply divine, the feeling of something so powerful rubbing through the walls of her sensitive insides.


    Kael felt the hotness as well as the warm liquid that began to flow. The feeling of his dick being wrapped around tight hot flesh made him release a small grunt due to ecstasy.


    He pulled out, bringing back his rod until only the tip remained inside. As if Eidel already knew what was going to come, she prepared herself and her mind.


    She raised her legs and placed them on Kael''s broad shoulders with as much elegance as a mad woman.


    Kael leaned down, putting his hands on the vines beside her waist so that he could stabilize himself. Eidel dug her sharp fingernails into the vine bed and gripped tightly.


    Confirming that every move was in place, Kael put his dick back in, going in full length this time.


    Eidel gasped as she arched her back, a short sensual moan escaped her lips. Before she could digest the feeling and adjust to Kael''s size, he pulled out and thrust in again.


    Kael began to increase his pace, going from small movements to more confident and powerful strokes. Every oscillation caused Eidel''s body to move back and forth on the vine bed and her breasts jiggled with such small movements.


    She had to grab onto Kael''s muscular arms, not just to stabilize herself but to have something she could squeeze without destroying. She had already crushed and ripped out a part of the vine bed by the sixth stroke, only Kael''s body could withstand her strength.


    Kael also noticed that Eidel''s body temperature was rising rapidly. It went from unnaturally high to burning hot real fast and her sweat began to evaporate. If this went on, Eidel would really light up with flames while they were having sex.


    But Kael didn''t protest this, the heat didn''t hurt him but made the experience more exotic and wonderful.


    As if his body was trying to match Eidel''s energy, his body temperature also began to rise and the sweat that was accumulating on his body began to evaluate. Their two bodies started turning red as the cells within them seemed to go insane.


    The vine bed beneath them started to burn away bit by bit. At first, it just dried off, then glowing embers chipped off and floated around them from the burning vines.


    As they moved, the dried vines emitted audible cracking sounds as their now brittle body broke apart.


    Kael started putting in more strength, he reached down with his other hand to grab one of Eidel''s breasts. He fondled it with the ferocity of a wild animal, twisting and squeezing her nipple multiple times.


    Each of his strokes started to continue with more force as he put more strength behind each thrust. He pounded her cunt relentlessly, allowing slapping sounds to echo across the cave and Eidel''s uncontrollable moans had already reached beyond.


    More than an hour had passed since they went at it but Nalii was not interested in observing them, she leaned against the vine chair with her eyes closed. She had just experienced the same feeling a few moments ago so she could understand.


    Katari on the other hand stared wide-eyed with an expression of shock and interest. She was briefly distracted from her feelings of enmity toward her red-haired pride sister.


    *Tsich*


    A small flicker of flame suddenly appeared on Eidel''s abdomen. The flame was small, reflecting its light from both their eyes, its warmth spreading over the body.


    Then like a flame torch placed in the middle of dried grass, the flame spread, covering the two humanoid entities.


    Kael found himself encased in burning hot reddish-orange flames and his body was producing a small part of these flames.


    The fire seemed to awaken their primal instincts as they went at it harder and tougher than ever.


    "Harder!" Eidel demanded, her loud telepathic voice would have disoriented the average listener.


    Kael didn''t need to be told twice, he went in and out like a living drill machine. His right hand found itself around Eidels burning neck as he held her in place, almost choking her as he pounded her cunt with full speed and force.


    Eidel screamed as she orgasmed, her cry of ecstasy causing the temperature in the cave to rise by multiple degrees. Her legs fell from Kael''s shoulders, trembling terribly as she experienced what it felt like to fly.


    Kael also felt himself reaching his climax again and did not stop pounding her, the liquid that was gushing out of her vagina was evaporated within seconds.


    Eidel wrapped her legs around Kael, not willing to let him go, not yet.


    Kael reached his peak as he slammed his pelvis into Eidel''s waist one more time, shooting multiple loads of lion sperm into his sister''s womb.


    Feeling the hot semen flowing into her body, Eidel weakly let go of Kael and the fire burning on both of them slowly died down.


    Eidel took in deep breaths, feeling exhausted even though Kael was the one who had done most of the movements. Either way, she had a really stupid smile on her face at the moment.


    Kael rolled to the side and lay on his back, about a meter from Eidel. He too was breathing hard, he wasn''t omnipotent after all, even he could get exhausted. It wasn''t like he would take red-capped mushrooms just to boost his already monstrous stamina.


    As Kael lay on the floor, he heard footsteps from the cave entrance coming closer to him. He didn''t move as he already knew who it was.


    Katari walked over and stood next to Kael''s tired form. She could see that Kael was exhausted and probably did not have the strength to continue his sex marathon. This was partly because he was having sex with beings who were close to him in terms of power.


    He had to match their strength in order to make any difference in their body even though he was still biologically superior to them.


    Katari guessed that Kael would need some time to recover his energy, but she did not want to wait, she couldn''t wait.


    She descended to the ground, her knees hitting the stone floor and emitting two crisp sounds.


    She knelt beside Kael, her gaze full of pleading intent as she stared at her beloved.


    Kael looked at her face, faintly guessing what was going through her mind. He raised his arm up, extending an open palm to her.


    Katari held his palm with hers, clenching it tightly as if she were afraid that he would leave her forever.


    "I-I can please you myself¡­" Katari said. Who would have imagined that the killer lioness would ever stammer? S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Katari had silently ''observed'' Kael and N''bay¨¦ when they did theirs and she had seen the positions Kael had asked her to take.


    She knew that there were some positions that allowed her to do the work instead of Kael.


    Kael sighed when he heard this, what more could he ask for as a man? He nodded his head to which Katari became elated.


    She was so courteous around Kael, that one would not be able to tell if this was the real her or not.


    She gently climbed over Kael, positioning her legs on his left and right sides before she sat down. Kael''s dick shaft pressed against the fleshy entrance of her cave.


    Katari leaned down until her breasts were pressing on Kael''s broad chest while she rested her arms beside Kael''s head.


    As she raised her lower body to allow Kael''s lion rod to enter, Kael suddenly did something that surprised her.


    Kael raised his head slightly so that his face came very close to Katari''s. He could see every detail of her smooth skin, her beautiful eyes, and her straight black hair that fell to the side.


    And then he kissed her on the lips.


    Katari had her eyes wide open at first, surprised by this, but then she sank into the passion, closing her eyes and kissing back. Even though she had never kissed before, she responded with great copying skills.


    As they kissed, Kael reached down with his hand to align his cock with Katari''s entrance. Katari moaned amidst their kiss as she felt Kael''s rod entering her.


    Her eyes remained closed, allowing her to drown in the sensation. Just like Eidel, this was also her first time.


    Without Kael telling her what to do, she began to move her body, particularly her waist. And so she began to ride Kael''s dick like her life depended on it.


    She rode and rode to her heart''s content, grinding their waist together for maximum pleasure.


    Soon, she had no choice but to break the long kiss in order to breathe well and moan comfortably. Kael grabbed her buttocks with his two hands while he buried his face in her cleavage, enjoying this moment of his life.


    Sex with Katari was the most ordinary yet also unique in a way. It reminded him of the simpler days.


    After close to two hours, both of them had completely expended their energy and the moans finally stopped.


    The cave went silent with the morning sunshine just a few hours away. And the coming day also meant the distribution of war spoils.

 Chapter 128 128: Her Mind

    The cold morning welcomed the arrival of the rising sun as many nocturnal creatures crawled back into the depths where they came from and other animals woke up to begin another day of their mundane life.


    The light of the rising crept into the cave abode, creeping on the stony ground until it touched upon the sleeping figures lying inside the cave.


    On the floor, next to the sleeping Eidel, two other humanoids lay on the ground, their naked bodies cuddled up against each other.


    Kael had his back against the stone floor, his messy golden hair lacking its usual regality. On top of his muscular body was the figure of a beautiful East Asian-looking woman with straight black hair that fell to the side and flowed on top of his chest.


    Kael opened his eyes, letting their golden color shine into the world once again. He stared at the stone ceiling, adjusting his mind as he brushed through the contents of his dream.


    As he turned his head to look to the side, Katari opened her eyes also. The simple act of turning his head had already woken her up as she felt a disturbance in the surrounding space.


    Being as alert as ever, her eyes snapped open and she stared straight at Kael who had begun raising his head to look at her.


    "Good morning," She said telepathically as sat up from Kael''s body. As she sat up, she discovered that his dick was still inside her but she was not in any hurry to take it out.


    "Morning," Kael said, also realizing that his lion rod was still inside Katari''s warm cunt.


    "Did you enjoy yourself?" Katari asked with an expectant gaze. She leaned down to plant a bold kiss on Kael''s lips, to which Kael did not resist.


    "Yes, I did," Kael responded with a dirty smile on his face. It was one thing to have multiple women with him, it was an entirely different thing to have the ability and stamina to handle all of them.


    Katari smiled at his response, feeling like she had done something better than the others. Of course, when she talked about enjoyment, she was only referring to herself and Kael, the other lionesses were as significant as a light breeze to her.


    "Oh, I forgot to tell you something yesterday," Katari said as she sat up again, causing both of them to feel a very pleasurable sensation from their groin area.


    "What''s that?" Kael asked. He nonchalantly stretched his hand to Kael''s back so that he could play with her buttocks while he listened to what she had to say.


    "Yesterday when I went to retrieve the tiger''s corpse, I stayed behind for a while to observe the cracks in the sky¡­" Katari began.


    Kael remembered that while he fought Darius yesterday, white pulsing cracks appeared in the sky as though it was on the verge of breaking apart.


    However, he could not spare the time to observe those cracks in detail during such a high-speed battle.


    "...At the center of the cracks, which I assume is also the source and cause of the cracks, I noticed a strange object coming out of the portal at the center.


    I don''t know how well to describe it, I''ve never seen it before. I only saw a bit of its body at the edge of the shattering portal."


    Kael waited for Katari to continue but she didn''t. She simply paused, thinking of a way to best describe what she saw.


    Kael, being ever curious, made a suggestion, "Why don''t I read your memories to see it for myself."


    Kael''s suggestion was very peculiar and most creatures would immediately refuse such a request. What if he looked at other memories and saw things that were supposed to be kept secret?


    "Sure," Katari agreed immediately, her trust in Kael was unlike any other. So what if he read her other memories, she had nothing to hide from her beloved.


    Kael nodded and a grey glow began to emanate from his eyes. He could feel his spirit powers growing as time went by, Priya was making progress.


    He connected his mind to Katari''s, wondering what it would be like to be in her mind.


    Kael instantly found himself standing in a vast space with nothing but white nothing. Everything was so calm, so peaceful, how was this the mind of Katari?


    How was this the mind of a crazy extremist? It was as if there was nothing here from the beginning, just silence and serenity. There was nothing but whiteness all the way to the horizon.


    ''Horizon?'' Kael wondered as he moved.


    He took a step forward and heard a crack from below. He looked down to see that he was standing on a transparent glass and this glass had multiple cracks in it spreading from his feet.


    Kael noticed that he was standing on a glass-like surface that covered the whole mindscape. When he looked beyond the glass to see what was beneath it, his mind shook.


    No known color could be used to describe what lay beneath the glass, no shape, no structure. Just an infinite mass of void essence.


    Violence, slaughter, bloodlust, rage, depravity, and even love. All these emotional essences were pushed to their extreme and trapped beneath the glass until they collapsed on themselves and formed a thanks zone.


    The contrast between the calm and serene expanse of whiteness above and the amalgamation of all extreme nothingness below was shocking.


    From the cracks that appeared around Kael''s feet, he could feel a thick aura of anti-emotions leaking out. Just these small cracks yet the aura was so thick.


    ''She''s hiding her emotions¡­'' Kael thought as he tried to remove his weight, then he realized that he was in a mindscape, there was no weight here.


    ''No, she''s not hiding anything because she doesn''t even have emotions in the first place.''


    Kael realized that Katari was just a pure psychopath. This was what it was like to be in the mind of a serial killer forced to act normal by external factors.


    One wrong move and the thing holding her and people like her from causing chaos would completely shatter.


    However, Kael noticed that once the aura of anti-emotions got close to him, it dissipated and the glass began to repair itself.


    ''I''m the only one holding her from completely going down that abyss, I''m the only one she has genuine emotions for,'' Kael thought to himself as he came to a conclusion. He saw the glass cracks disappear when he leaned down to touch them, confirming his guesses.


    ''To be loved by a psychopath woman is quite¡­exotic.'' Kael mused with a gentle smile on his face.


    The blank expanse of whiteness represented what she currently showed to everyone about her and everything beneath the glass was who she truly was.


    The white expanse was like a canvas that could be painted with anything. The void below could not be painted nor could it be disguised.


    His expression became calm as he started walking on the glass again confidently, sure that it would not break under his weight.


    "Katari, I''ll need your help with recovering those memories," Kael spoke out. All her memories were mixed with those chaotic emotional essences and trying to touch them could destroy whatever peaceful state Katari was currently in.


    "Okay," Katari was oblivious to what her mindscape was like visually, she probably thought it was just like everyone else''s.


    She tried to remember all she saw yesterday when she went to retrieve the tiger''s corpse with N''bay¨¦.


    The environment around Kael changed and started to set things from another perspective.


    He found himself looking through the eyes of Katari as she sat down quietly in the forest while N''bay¨¦ used her magic stones to carry the tiger corpse away.


    Then Katari turned her head to observe the portal in the sky. Her lion vision was adjusted by multiple layers until she could see the inside of her portal a bit more clearly.


    Kael could make out the body of a large structure slowly coming out of the portal, only a small portion of the actual body had revealed itself.


    Kael nearly choked on his imaginary saliva as he instantly recognized the body of the space shuttle in Katari''s memory.


    "FUCK!" He shouted and released a spirit wave causing the memory to start fading away.


    Before it completely disappeared, Kael got a good look at the designs on the shuttle and confirmed that it was actually what he thought it was.


    The only time he had seen that magic shuttle design was in Noel''s memories, particularly the one where he fought the dragons.


    That was the boy of a magic shuttle belonging to the lion race. He recognized that regal design that projected the aura of royalty from every curve and edge.


    The memory faded away and Kael removed his spirit conciseness from Katari''s head.


    He found himself lying on the floor with Katari still sitting on top of him, his dick still inside her as she looked at him with curiosity.


    "Do you know what that thing is?" Katari asked, she saw how Kael only reacted differently after he saw the body of the metallic vessel coming out of the portal.


    "Yes," Kael replied truthfully, "I just don''t know if that will be a friend¡­or foe." S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 129 129: Are You Pregnant?

    Suddenly, Katari and Kael heard the sound of footsteps. Someone was walking towards the cave.


    Katari rolled away as Kael''s dick slipped out of her vagina with a barely audible pop sound reaching their ears. A bit of white substance flowed around the entrance but neither of them seemed to be disturbed by it.


    Katari and Kael finally stood up from the floor, with their movements alerting the two other humanoids sleeping inside the cave.


    Eidel awoke and stood up from her own corner. The memories of the magnificent sex she had yesterday flashed through her mind causing her to pause her movements. For a while, she just sat there, replaying everything in her mind.


    Nalii awoke from the vine chair she had been sleeping on, her eyes half closed as she also recalled all she had experienced the previous night.


    Kael didn''t disturb them yet, he waved his hand in the air and a small blue magic circle appeared and spread a blue magic wave that washed over the four of them.


    Their bodies were instantly clean and the smell of sex faded away with the arrival of the morning breeze.


    This was just one of the little magic tricks he had learned from N''bay¨¦. He hadn''t yet learned anything substantial that could help him out in a fight.


    "Kael, we should take that water pool cave for ourselves," Nalii suddenly suggested.


    Kael understood her train of thought but didn''t say anything about it. Something else was on his mind, something more important.


    The fact that an unknown lion race magic shuttle was currently in this world was quite worrying.


    For a lion to build that type of magic shuttle and even control it, a powerful Magus Lion was needed. Not only that, the materials and knowledge needed to build such vessels were unknown to Kael.


    That magic shuttle had to come from a place where they had sufficient resources and also powerful lions.


    ''Could it be from another world, perhaps another planet?'' Kael kept on thinking as he walked toward the cave entrance.


    Just then, N''bay¨¦ walked into the cave, naked as usual like all of them. Her yellow eyes scanned each of them, taking note of the troubled expression on Kael''s face.


    "Good morning everyone," She said. Kael, Eidel, and Nalii returned her greetings telepathically while Katari just nodded her head to acknowledge that she heard it.


    N''bay¨¦ smiled, she knew what they had done yesterday night and was pleased, she didn''t have to be here herself to know what happened with the four of them.


    Eidel was actively avoiding eye contact with N''bay¨¦ and Nalii was still sitting on the vine chair, acting like she didn''t know what was going through N''bay¨¦''s mind.


    Katari was just indifferent to whatever N''bay¨¦ was thinking, she too had other things to ponder about.


    ''I need to be careful, I don''t know how they will react to a new Primordial Lion¡­'' Kael thought to himself.


    He felt that he had to make preparations. Just because the Primordial lion was a significant being of the lion race didn''t mean all lions would like him just for that. They might even see him as a threat to the status quo and take the initiative to antagonize him.


    Just as Kael was preparing to leave the cave, his nose twitched. He was standing close to N''bay¨¦ and could perceive something strange from her body.


    He turned his head to look at N''bay¨¦ very well, his golden eyes staring at her like she was transparent.


    N''bay¨¦ raised an eyebrow at the peculiar and intense look Kael was giving him. She looked down at herself to check if there was something on her body but she didn''t find anything.


    Kael got closer to her, his nostrils flaring as he took in deep breaths as if he wanted to sniff away her existence.


    He bent his tall body so that he could sniff her neck, chest, and her hair. N''bay¨¦ stood still through all this, waiting for Kael to tell her what was wrong while the three other humanoid women looked in with curiosity.


    Finally, Kael raised his head with a confused glint in his eyes, "Are you pregnant?"


    *Silence*


    Kael''s question was like a bomb, rattling the minds of all who heard it. For close to ten seconds, N''bay¨¦ just stared at Kael with her eyebrows furrowed but her eyes wide.


    "N''bay¨¦," Kael called out seriously, "Are you pregnant?"


    N''bay¨¦ became nervous as she didn''t know how to answer that question. Yes or no. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do I smell like I''m pregnant?" N''bay¨¦ asked with her heart filled with nervousness. There were a few reasons for her nervousness though.


    She still had nine years plus to back out of the Primordial Pride contract she had with Kael. Although she had already put that out of her mind, she still liked to have options.


    Pregnancy and having children with Kael would just complicate that. That was a whole different level of commitment, one that made her nervous about the future which was very much unlike her.


    Another thing was that she wasn''t sure about being the mother of Kael''s first child. That was an honor that should be preserved for his day ones like Katari, Ruda, or Eidel.


    And then raising a child in the wild was not easy at all. It required the power to protect and the ability to provide, something which she and Kael already had.


    "Yes," Kael answered her bluntly. He didn''t know why but the scent he was perceiving from Nalii''s body told his brain that she was carrying another life inside her.


    And not just any life, he could smell a little bit of himself from that tiny minuscule lifeform.


    "Are you?" Kael asked again, his time coming with an edge that demanded a simple and straightforward answer.


    "I don''t know," N''bay¨¦ said as she calmed down. If she was indeed pregnant, then she would accept it as it was, it would be something that ensured she couldn''t turn back, but it would also make sure she put all her effort into making Kael and the pride survive and thrive.


    "I''ve been feeling different lately, as though my body is changing¡­" She said.


    "Do you feel tired more often?" Nalii asked with her eyebrows raised in suspicion. She had had children before and was an experienced mother, so she knew what it was like to experience pregnancy.


    "Yes," N''bay¨¦ answered truthfully, becoming calmer than before.


    "What about your appetite?" Nalii asks again.


    "It''s growing, I''ve already eaten from yesterday''s meat stash this morning because I was hungry¡­" N''bay¨¦ began to explain to them how she felt.


    Eidel listened with laser focus, aware that she could potentially experience such things in the near future, especially now that she and Kael would now be having intercourse more often.


    Katari observed this interaction with an odd calmness. If anything, she should be the most offended one, but she just stood there, soaking up the conversation.


    Or perhaps, maybe she no longer had a reason to be offended. There was a slight frown on her face but it was hardly noticeable.


    ''For the sake of the clan,'' She told herself as she reassessed her priorities.


    "Well, it seems you are actually pregnant. Uhm, that''s good." Nalii said feeling awkward, but as she did not see any visible aggression from Katari, she relaxed.


    N''bay¨¦ also relaxed, feeling like she was understanding this black sheep of their lion pride better.


    Katari was a simple person. As long as it did not affect Kael, Katari couldn''t care less and might even support it if it had some benefits.


    But if Kael was to be dissatisfied with the fact of N''bay¨¦''s pregnancy¡­


    As though all of them had come to this realization, all four of the humanoid lionesses turned to look at Kael, awaiting his judgment.


    N''bay¨¦ made up her mind, if Kael had even a little frown on her face, she would immediately run away. A few seconds was all it took for the current Katari to critically threaten her life.


    A small rune mark lit up on N''bay¨¦''s knuckles and behind her back. She was always well-prepared for a fallout.


    Kael was naturally aware of all the minor movements happening. He was aware of the magic fluctuations happening behind N''bay¨¦, he was also aware of the spatial fluctuations occurring beside Katari.


    A smile crept up his face as he found it all funny. The more he spent time with them, the more he appreciated how each of them was different from one another in their own way.


    "Well, that''s delightful." He said with an elated expression. He wasn''t foreign to the concept of having children and had also expected it.


    From his life on earth, he had one child from his second and last failed marriage. A son who could not be with his father due to custody issues, a memory to reminisce at another time.


    Seeing Kael''s excited expression, everyone relaxed. At least, now they felt that everything would be alright.

 Chapter 130 130: Vanity

    Everyone got ready to leave the cave as N''bay¨¦ had originally come to tell Kael about the distribution of resources after yesterday''s battle.


    Although the sexual tension was still in the air, especially now that Kael had recovered his stamina, they knew what needed to be done and focused on their priorities. There would be enough time to fool around in the future.


    Meanwhile, Kael was still thinking about the lion magic shuttle that had descended into this world and was now at some place.


    He wasn''t comfortable not knowing anything about them or where they were. Even the information that Isaiah was still alive wasn''t as troubling as this.


    Kael was starting to feel a lot of pressure all of a sudden. He had just too many things to handle.


    He had secretly been leading a large number of lions toward the forest from the plains and expected their arrival next week or the week after that.


    Their purpose in the forest was not yet clear but it was certain he would use them to attack one of the forces of the forest.


    And speaking of forces, there was also the issue of the two other large wolf clans that were known to be very hostile and aggressive.


    Their stance on the situation of the mountain wouldn''t be neutral for long as they would eventually set their intelligent gazes on this center of command.


    There were the spider factions who mostly operated in secret. Kael could see that their primary goal was to establish communication among multiple powerful creatures and get a lot of benefits from it. This unfortunately also gave them a lot of power when it came to networking and intelligence gathering.


    Kael had decided that he would not take any violent action against the spiders in order to subjugate them. But now that the existence of otherworldly lions was known to him, he felt like he could not afford the time to take things slowly with the spiders.


    He would have to be a little bit forceful so that he could take the spider faction under his control, or at least, a part of it. But the spider network was incredibly vast and reached even far beyond the forest, according to N''bay¨¦.


    Natalia was merely one of the numerous brood masters in the spider economy. There would be someone out there ready to replace her once she was gone.


    If he started forcefully, he might eventually end up having a sour relationship with the whole Spider faction, just like the wolves. Kael didn''t want that.


    He could continue with his soft approach, slowly trying to gaud Natalia into joining his kingdom and becoming a permanent caste leader.


    Or he could lead his lionesses and some wolves to capture or kill some spiders and use force to subjugate them.


    There was a third option though, and that was to create his own special intelligence force separate from the spiders. There were a lot of advantages to this that would put him in a better position in the future.


    Not only would he make it clear to Natalia that he doesn''t need their help in gathering intelligence, but they would also realize that Kael was a practical and pragmatic person. If they weren''t willing to join him, others would.


    The issue would escalate once Kael decides to expand his kingdom again and finally comes knocking on her door, not as a friend or ally, but as a conqueror.


    However, creating his own local intelligence force would come with some difficulties. He also didn''t know the best type of animal to have such castes.


    ''Sigh,'' Kael sighed in his mind as he stepped out of the cave and began walking down the mountain. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He saw Ruda, Olivia, Zabita, and Diane, who had been patrolling the area and serving as the first layer of defense for the cave.


    Seeing their leader, they grew excited as they knew his movement meant he was about to do something about the loots.


    ''Then, there is still that Burdo and that beach he talked about. I still have to plan a campaign to that place and I need an army.


    Most importantly, I need information on its location, information about its inhabitants, and information on the topography.


    I also need information on the Lion Magic Shuttle.


    Yes, information is crucial, information is key.


    I''ll have to set up my own intelligence force then, it''s final. The strategic significance outweighs all potential fallout with the spiders¡­''


    Kael continuously drowned himself in thought while taking note of the slight change the mountain had experienced.


    The mountain was eerily silent, not completely, just less noisy than before.


    Before yesterday, some birds who were not afraid of being hunted by the high-powered inhabitants of the mountain simply because they were too small.


    There would usually be an occasional chirp from one bird or the other as it flew away into the sky to start its day.


    Now, after the terrifying battle and bloodshed that occurred, with the aura of blood and conflict still attached to the very grounds on which he walked on, it would take a while before the birds came back.


    Eventually, Kael reached the bottom of the mountain. From here he got a wide look at the new mountaintop that was now more like the top of a Mayan Pyramid. Flat and wide.


    "Your Majesty!" Vixy came over with an excited voice and a skip in her steps. Her red-furred body swayed over the ground and released small amounts of spirit energy.


    "Vixy," He looked at Vixy and then at her two fox followers behind her, one was white and emitted a frost aura and the other a fiery red that was emanating mild heat waves from her body.


    "Your Majesty, are you ready to begin the distribution of the loot?" Vixy asked, not hiding her excitement. The reason why she was so elated was obviously because there was a chance she could receive a reward that would allow her to advance to the next level.


    "Where is the loot? Where have you kept them?" Kael asked.


    "They are still in a special cave which we reserved for them," Vixy said, "should I take you there, Your Majesty?"


    "Hmmm," Kael did not respond immediately, he looked around. He saw how a lot of trees were damaged and uprooted from the ground.


    When both he and Darius had sped down the mountain at incredible speeds, they had destroyed a lot of obstacles that were in their way. This included trees, little critters, and even the ground they had run on.


    Now, there was a blasted and smooth pathway that spiraled round the mountain and reaching the top, this path was carved out by their lightning-powered descent.


    With a little smoothening, this pathway that they had unintentionally created could be managed and turned into a legit road that went up the whole command center.


    However, the existence of the pathway proved something that Kael had not considered before, and that was the fragility of all that he had fought for.


    The mountain he had fought so hard to control and take over had almost crumbled after two tier-four beings fought. What was the point?


    He had imagined this mountain to be one of those sacred mountains in the future, where his clan would govern the whole savage land from the mountaintop with little opposition.


    In his futuristic vision, the mountain was much higher than it currently was now that he was looking at it.


    This mountain in his reality was shorter, fragile, and couldn''t withstand the hits of a tier-four being.


    When he had imagined himself taking over the mountain, he had done so with the mindset of an ordinary lion. Cutting off a chunk of the mountain with one claw strike was not something he was able to imagine back then.


    But now, he was sure that his enemies would more or less get stronger as time went by. His growth, power, and prosperity would attract the attention of lions, dragons, and other races in the universe.


    This mountain, even as a command center was not sufficient, it was not enough, he needed something better, something more¡­unique.


    He had fallen into the power trap, he now knew why no amount of power was ever enough for those politicians. It was just campaign after campaign after campaign.


    He could see it all now, now that he had acquired the mountain, he was no longer satisfied and wanted more and more. And maybe after he acquired more, he would still not be satisfied.


    ''Is there any amount of power that would ever be enough?'' Kael asked himself, acknowledging his growing greed for general power. He had to acknowledge it so that he could control it.


    Perhaps, if there was such a thing as ''enough power'' it was still far beyond the reach of the Primordial lion. He still had a long way to go before he could ever be truly satisfied.


    ''What was the point of fighting for this mountain? It''s just vanity that can crumble under the might of my Conqueror Mode.'' Kael said to himself.


    If Darius was alive and heard what Kael said, he would die again from too much anger.


    Kael shook his head with a wry smile, life was just like that. He turned again to Vixy, "Yes, let the white one take me to the cave where you kept all the loot. I want you to go and gather all the wolves and foxes.


    I''ll be doing the distribution."

 Chapter 131 131: Scheming Entities

    "I''ll be distributing the loot¡­" Kael said.


    Vixy almost jumped up with excitement, "Yes yes, I''ll go and call Commander Bibi and tell him about this. We shall meet you at the cave Your Majesty.


    You, take His Majesty to the loot cave." Vixsy said, giving out orders to the white fox behind her.


    "I''ll be taking my leave," She said before she started walking away. However, Vixy just couldn''t contain the excitement any longer and broke into a sprint, covering large distances with each stretch and leaving behind a red blur.


    The red fiery fox, one of the followers following Vixy around, quickly ran after her boss.


    Kael watched as the red fox weived last the multiple broken trees, he guessed what was the cause of her excitement. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He turned to the white fox with two white tails swirling behind him. "Take me to the loot cave." He commanded.


    Just then, he heard multiple footsteps as four humanoid lionesses were making their way to him from the mountain.


    The white fox also seemed to hear the footsteps and he seemed to recognize one, N''bay¨¦''s. His ears dropped as he turned around and started walking, leading Kaelto the cave.


    Maybe if he walked fast enough, he would avoid meeting those lionesses. But if he walked too fast, that would probably offend the king.


    Unfortunately, his wish wasn''t granted and the universe seemed to take interest in raising his stress levels.


    The four humanoid lionesses walked fast with their two legs, jumping over multiple meters with a single leap.


    *THUD! THUD! THUD!...*


    Three beautiful women landed on the ground beside Kael. Another one appeared by his right-hand side after a slight twist in space.


    The white fox turned around and immediately shrank his head back in fear. The previous cold aura around him reduced drastically as he made extra effort to make sure his power did not touch them.


    He had not seen three of these humanoids before but guessing the new power status of Katari, Eidel, and Nalii, he understood that they should be the same humanoids he was seeing now.


    It was already incredibly stressful for someone like him to walk beside Kael who was constantly emitting a dominating aura, now there were lionesses too.


    Either way, the four humanoid lionesses did not seem to pay him attention. The white fox continued walking and leading them to the loot cave while the humanoids talked among themselves.


    He wanted to tell them something but felt it might be a bad idea, he didn''t want to interrupt their discussion. But if he didn''t talk now, he would have to settle for whatever he got later.


    ''No, this is my chance. If I can''t become life partners with Madam Vixy, I might as well try to surpass her.'' The white fox said to himself.


    "Uhm¡­" The white fox continued walking but sent a thought out, hoping that Kael had left a telepathic channel to communicate with him.


    "Hmmm," Kael paused his conversation with his lionesses, he had heard the message from the white fox.


    The white fox was both elated and nervous when he saw that Kael had noticed and was now staring at him with those intense golden eyes.


    "Do you have something to say?" Kael asked. The four humanoids continued their discussion without him with the black-haired one nodding occasionally and adding little words to the conversation.


    "Ah yes, King Kael," The white fox answered, making sure to not slow down his steps. "I wanted to tell you about the loot," His voice got lower and he seemed really nervous at the end.


    "Oh, was anything wrong with it?" Kael asked with one of his dark golden eyebrows raised.


    "No no no¡­" The white fox shook his head, "It''s just that, gathering the loot from yesterday''s battle was my idea."


    "Oh, it was?" Kael raised his two eyebrows and asked, his tone showed that he was interested in what the white fox had to say.


    The white fox nodded his head enthusiastically, he hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should say what he wanted to say, then he reaffirmed his will and continued talking, "Yes, yesterday I told Madam Vixy that we foxes should at least contribute to the fight other than monitoring the meat stash.


    Although she refused at first, she later agreed after I explained to her how doing such would please you¡­" The white fox blabbered on.


    Kael wondered to himself at what point had he started to surround himself with so many scheming entities.


    There was N''bay¨¦, Duller, Burdo, and Vixy, which he knew of. Now this one, the white fox, had shown himself.


    This white fox was probably aiming for Vixy''s position, Kael was aware of this. But at the same time, Kael was not stupid, he wasn''t going to favor the white fox over Vixy all of a sudden.


    But he would love to play along, perhaps also control the objective of this little game the white fox was playing.


    "I see," That was his reply to all the white fox had said. His short reply caused the white fox to reduce his words and grow nervous. He wondered if he had said something wrong, what if the relationship between Kael and Vixy was tighter than he had presumed?


    "What''s your name?" Kael finally asked. This question eased the mind of the white fox, he didn''t see anything that indicated that Kael had taken it the wrong way.


    "Ken, Your Majesty." The white fox replied.


    In Kael''s kingdom, a lot of the animals had realized the use of having names especially with telepathic commutation spreading. There needed to be a means of identification.


    Because of that, many of the wolves and foxes had begun to choose names for themselves without Kael asking them to.


    "Ken, huh, don''t worry, your actions will be rewarded," Kael said, a mischievous idea forming in his mind.


    Ken was immediately excited and almost skipped in excitement but remembered he was in the presence of a very dignified being. He felt that he had taken one more step to be closer to his goal.


    A game created and played by predators would always end with the same bloody outcome.


    Kael didn''t want to talk too much about it so he kept silent and let Ken, the white fox lead the way until they eventually arrived at the cave that was used to store the loot.


    The strong smell of quality flesh and dried blood hit their nose like a speeding truck, causing Kael and the humanoid women to frown slightly.


    If not for the residual auras and the signs of dangerous battle, as well as the remaining wolves that had been here, this place would have been raided long ago.


    Such concentration of high-quality meat would have been enough to make a lot of animals throw caution to the wind and rush forth with greediness possessing every part of their body.


    The cave entrance was not too big, but not small either. Just enough for three large moose to pass through easily at the same time.


    Around the cave, there were some foxes, the foxes of the fox merchant caste. They guarded the cave and didn''t let any animal get close, not even an insect.


    Although they were not warriors, they were still stronger than most animals and did well in guarding the cave in the meantime. The wolves were patrolling and resting from the battle they had yesterday.


    This was one of the reasons why Kael had to increase the number of wolf warriors he had. The foxes had other businesses and trading to do after all.


    The guarding foxes had been lying around the cave entrance, just basking under the morning sun and the refreshingly cool breeze.


    As soon as the foxes saw their king Kael walking up to them with four other humanoids and the white wolf in front, they assembled in front of her cave entrance with different thoughts running through their head.


    They looked to the white fox for answers but even he did not look at them. He just turned to look at the golden-haired humanoid with a golden lion tail swishing from left to right behind him.


    "Your Majesty, this is the cave." Ken bowed his white furry head and took some steps away from Kael.


    Kael nodded his head slightly to acknowledge it. He sent a telepathic message to the humanoids behind him, "Go in and start bringing them out, we will soon begin,"


    Eidel, Nalii, N''bay¨¦, and Katari nodded their heads and they walked toward the cave. The foxes made way for them, not daring to stand in their way.


    Kael stood there, putting his hands behind him and taking in a deep breath. Even though he was naked his current stance was filled with regality and authority, it was like looking at a majestic lion in human form.


    A golden shimmer appeared on his body as the Primordial laws of Conquering gathered around him. Kael had just begun his journey to the fourth tier.

 Chapter 132 132: Guesses On the Primordial Laws, Ishat.

    As the golden shimmer of Lionhood condensed around his body and caused his aura to rise, Kael found himself in his memory space once again.


    He could feel that a particular memory was tugging on his mind, a memory that seemed to be reacting to his sudden concentration of the laws.


    Arriving in this place that was absent of color yet still colorful, Kael found himself drawn to the golden figure of the third Primordial Lion, the first female Primordial Primordial.


    Ishat.


    The memory that was drawing and calling to him was coming from her. Kael had already reached a level where he had more control over his mind when experiencing these memories, so he was sure that something like an identity crisis wouldn''t happen again.


    He didn''t resist the pull and fell toward the figure of the large golden lioness. She was the only Primordial Lion that he had not yet checked the memories of.


    After Kael sank through the golden figure of Ishat, he found himself looking at a new world from her perspective.


    The new sight once again reminded Kael of how vast the universe was.


    He was now in the body of a young golden lioness, walking through a very peculiar forest.


    There was almost no greenery in this forest, mostly blue. The grass was blue, the sprouting vines had blue algae, the trees had blue leaves, and so on.


    Very few things were actually green in color in his vision and those things weren''t even considered vegetation. The dirt ground the young golden lioness walked in was brown with a hint of red, showing its peculiarity from other soil Kael had seen.


    Even the sky looked odd here, it was strangely green with deep yellow clouds floating around.


    As her large paws patted the dirt ground softly, Kael noticed that she moved with a certain elegance that he hadn''t seen in any other lionesses before.


    This lioness kept her head high with her snouth slightly facing the sky, her shoulders were straight and her stance was controlled. There was no excess movement, when she moved, her paws always landed in the right place. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Her beautiful golden eyes were bright yet moved dull and slowly. She looked at everything with restrained disdain, even the plants were not spared from her condescending gaze.


    This lioness was Ishat, the third Primordial lion.


    And she didn''t walk alone, walking beside her were three male lions who each had the same disdainful look in their eyes, as though nothing in the world could impress them.


    They were all large, large enough that Kael guessed that they were at least tier 4, but it was a guess. Although size didn''t always determine the power level of a lion, most times, it did.


    But even then, Ishat still towered over these three lions. The biggest among them only reached just below her shoulder, making this big lion that was around three meters tall look short.


    Clearly, Ishat was much more powerful than them. As for what tier she was exactly, Kael didn''t try to guess it at all, there was no point.


    Kael found himself in the midst of a conversation that Ishat was having with these three lions.


    "It''s a pity, to be honest, so much power but you don''t have the knowledge to use it," The biggest lion close to her said.


    This lion was fiery red and had a thick blood-red mane that flickered with a minuscule amount of flames.


    "The power is enough," Ishat said, her voice sounding both sweet and overbearing at the same time. She sounded like someone who never took no for an answer.


    "Queen Ishat, the more I study about the Primordials of their races and compare them to the lions, I notice something different." The second lion said with a look of intelligence in his eyes.


    He had faint runic tattoos on his shoulders which gave away the type of lion he was.


    "... Understanding of the Primordials is not simple, even I don''t know what I''m truly capable of," Ishat said.


    "Yes, exactly!" The magus lions said enthusiastically before continuing, "The reason why you don''t understand what you can do is because we haven''t researched.


    You should just hear me out while I explain it well for you," He said.


    "What are your opinions?" Ishat asked, indirectly asking for the magus lion to say what was in his mind.


    "Okay okay. You see, I have noticed that the Primordials of each race are usually different.


    They don''t use their powers the same way, and neither do they create rules that do the same thing. Not all Primordials can create a Primordial record like you can, and not all can sign contracts like you.


    After extensive questions, I have come to the conclusion that it is because of the nature of your powers. You don''t drive power from the same place.


    It is known that all Primordials have access to the Primordial laws, but what are the Primordial laws exactly? What do we know about it?


    My guess is that there are multiple types of Primordial laws and each race has some affinity to a particular one which affects our Primordials and by extension, our culture.


    Let''s take a look at the Cheetahs for example, they are not like us even though they are one of our universal relatives. Their first Primordial Cheetah was born the same instant Alan the first lion was born.


    Look at their culture, look at their current Primordial Cheetah, it''s just so different from ours. I believe that is because although we are related, we don''t share an affinity for the same laws.


    Cheetahs are about speed, being swift is what their culture idolizes. Their Primordial has such control over True Speed that it doesn''t seem fair, but it is.


    The cheetahs all embody the Primordial law of speed, so by that logic, their Primordial would have powers that come from that law.


    Do you understand what I''m saying?" The magus lion asked his Queen.


    Ishat did not stop walking, her eyes shimmered with intelligence and she matched the magus lion neuron for neuron when it came to intellectual prowess.


    Her mind spun as she quickly understood what the Magus Lion was trying to say. Slowly, she was getting a better understanding of her powers.


    "I understand it a bit, but there are some confusing parts of your opinion," She said, "The Cheetahs are not the only race that idolizes Speed. Falcons and Swordfish also have a thing for speed.


    Won''t that mean that more than one race can share the access to the same laws?" Ishat asked.


    The Magus Lion modded his head, "That is what I''m thinking too, but that may not be too bad, at least for our generation we don''t need to worry about that.


    The main thing is that we have a different Primordial law than the rest. We should not try to learn from other races but rather look into ourselves, and understand our very nature.


    Only by understanding that law that we embody can we help you grow stronger and achieve your goals¡­"


    "I think I know what our law is," Ishat with an ever-superior mind, cut him off as her brain delivered answers after answers to her.


    "Alan didn''t just bring us into this world, he poured his very existence into bringing the first lioness and lion to life.


    From what we know, eighteen different lion hearts came from his actions, with the Primordial lionheart being one of them.


    Three of those lionhearts nearly went extinct because their lionhearts conflicted with their very nature. Reproducing with other lions was just too hard for them.


    By cross-referencing the lionheart types with the nature of lions. I can make a rough guess of what type of law the lions embody.


    If I am I assume that there is a law of almost everything in this universe, then I can say that we are more stunned by the law of Conquering, Domination, Superiority, or Authority.


    But I am leaning more toward Conquering. After all, that is the only thing that seems to unite us lions.


    Even I am a slave to this culture."


    The magus lion nodded his head, "Yes, although I don''t think there are infinite laws. I like to think that there is a certain number of laws that serve as the building block of the universe, we merely have an affinity for this one.


    And concerning the other lionhearts, they all seem to work well with the idea of Conquering, if that is the case.


    However, we will need to do more testing to confirm if our Primordial law is indeed the Law of Conquering¡­"


    "That will be for another time, we''ve arrived." The last lion said as he cut off the magus lion before he forgot what they truly came for.


    The last lion had pale brown fur on his body, but his mane was shiny and metallic, looking like a massive of long silver needles. His claws were all metallic, reflecting the light from the Daystar above.


    The noses of Ishat and the three lions twitched as they perceived the scent of what they had come for.


    Soon, they came to a ridge with a steep side, down the ridge were multiple burrows that had animalistic squeaking sounds coming from it.


    Ishat and her three lion consorts crouched, hiding behind the cove of the big trees, waiting patiently as their hunter''s instinct directed them. They waited for hours in silence, waiting for their target to show themselves.


    Eventually, one rat the size of a small dog climbed out of one of the burrows, sniffing at the air and looking around with vigilance, unaware that it was being watched by its natural predator.


    The rat made a squeaking sound again and he received more squeaks from the other burrows. More rats started climbing out of their habitats, ready to go about and look for food.


    Ishat, seeing the large amount of rats gathered in one place could not help but wear a nasty villainous smile.


    "If we are indeed attuned to the law of Conquering, then we are destined to conquer all and become the ultimate Conquerors. But every Conqueror needs slaves¡­"


    Her words were validated by the three lions who nodded their head enthusiastically as they stared at the large number of rats.


    "Future generations will thank us for this gift."

 Chapter 133 133: Luck, Giving Rewards.

    Kael''s eyes snapped open with the last images he saw being one of blood and savage domination.


    His body shook slightly as he shook off the uncomfortable feeling he had. Glancing through this memory had not taken much time in reality.


    To an outside observer, he had only closed his eyes for a little more than ten seconds.


    The golden shimmer around him faded away and Kael could feel that something was building up inside his body. He could feel that he was accumulating a power that he could not use, not yet.


    Eventually, that accumulation of pepper would reach its limit, and once it did¡­


    Kael revised the contents of the memory, he knew why that particular memory had called to him. Its content was crucial for the next steps he would take in the future.


    Slowly and steadily, he was learning more about his status as a Primordial Lion. Maybe if the previous Primordial Lions had the same advantage that he had, they would have acquired so much power that from that era till now, there would have been only two Primordial Lions.


    ''The Law of Conquering¡­'' Kael played with those words in his mind, revising and redefining what it meant.


    He decided to meditate on it at a later time, for now, he wanted to get this distribution of loot over with.


    He watched as Eidel, Nalii, Katari, and N''bay¨¦ went in and out of the cave, dragging a dead creature one after the other.


    There were more than fifteen different bodies, each of them would be comparable to a tier three wolf or slightly weaker when they were alive.


    There were those two poisonous lizards, a fiery red weasel-like creature, and a long snake with metallic scales decorating its body, there were lone wolves who had lived in isolation in the mountain as well as some other common creatures of the forest.


    If Bibi III had succeeded in bringing down Kael after the two-way betrayal, he would still not have been able to take the mountain for himself. There were just too many powerful enemies he would have to deal with.


    He might have been able to handle two people of the same tier with him due to his skills but that was just him.


    Kael also had something almost no other creature in the forest had, something that he had been hiding and keeping silent about most of the time, casually downplaying his role in all his activities.


    That thing was the power of luck which he had been able to control to a certain extent.


    Olivia was a Fortune Lioness with the Fortune Lionheart, this type of lionheart granted her the power to adjust the scales of luck to favor her. Although this was usually very subtle and limited, it was still there and was very important.


    And Kael, having signed a Pride Contract, also had access to the power to twist the enigmatic force of luck in his favor.


    One could say that without Olivia and Kael, the Ol-mytee pride would have suffered a lot more than what they experienced in the past months. Because of Kael and Olivia, a lot of their activities that had a lot of risks ended up turning out fine from them.


    Of course, the power to warp the force of luck was not omnipotent and was heavily dependent on the individual''s power level. If they met a very strong opponent, the power of luck would have little effect, brute force would be the deciding factor.


    And if they ever encountered another creature with the power of luck, things could go wrong very quickly. If the creature had the same power level as them, the power luck would simply be nullified and everything would be left for whoever had the sharpest claws.


    If the opponent had the power of luck and was also of a higher tier, he or she could suppress the luck of the weaker creature.


    This was why Kael was always making preparations, he couldn''t trust the power of luck to always work and he was right. There were a lot of times that the power of luck just didn''t work out.


    As for the circumstances surrounding the Conqueror Mode and its sudden appearance, Kael couldn''t tell if it was a coincidence or if the power of luck played a role in it.


    Kael was very casual when addressing anything about Olivia. He didn''t want to draw too much attention to her even though she was already doing that on her own.


    Of all his lionesses, Olivia was the most easy-going and accessible. Most wolves already saw her as the slightly ''funny'' lioness that could be talked to. However her sense of humor and the kind of things she considered funny as a lioness had to be looked at very carefully.


    "This is everything," N''bay¨¦ said as she dropped the last body which was the corpse of an Ewu, a large flightless bird that resembled an ostrich.


    Kael nodded his head as he silently observed all the corpses with his arms behind him.


    "There is still that one that we captured, should I bring him over?" N''bay¨¦ asked.


    "No, not now. Let''s finish with this one first," Kael said.


    Two green stumps grew from his forehead and started giving off a green glow. Answering the call of the king, multiple thick vines burst out from the ground to surround the fifteen corpses.


    The vines slithered across the floor, wrapping their lengths around the feet or necks of the dead animals tightly.


    Kael raised his hand and made a clawing motion upward and the vines, like a choreographed play, rose with the direction of his hand.


    The vines raised all fifteen carcasses into the air, letting them dangle a few inches from the ground. The blood in the bodies already had a whole day to leak out from the injuries so little blood remained to pool in the floor.


    The foxes gazed with excitement and nervousness. They had noticed the strange look of confidence on Ken''s face and wondered what had happened to him.


    And where was Vixy? They remembered that Vixy had gone to meet King Kael but only Ken had returned with the king.


    Speaking of Vixy, she finally arrived at this time. As soon as the foxes saw Vixy, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Only with Madam Vixy around could they have peace of mind.


    Vixy arrived with her fiery assistant behind her. At first, it was just the two of them that showed up, then more figures started showing themselves amongst the maze of broken trees.


    One wolf after the other started showing themselves and Commander Bibi was among them. He was the one who had given the howl to assemble all the wolves that were either resting or patrolling.


    There were about seventy or eighty wolves in total, the remnant warriors from the battle yesterday morning.


    From the initial one hundred and fifty odd wolves, these were the ones who survived. The fifteen enemies had not been easy to take down at all.


    The wolves were not the only ones that were present though, Prince Burdo had also appeared, and behind him were the five water lionesses of his pride.


    Zabita, Olivia, Diane, and Ruda also showed themselves too, they stood in front of the beastly crowd.


    When they all got close, they saw the fifteen corpses dangling from the tall vines and knew what was about to happen.


    "Good day everyone," Kael''s telepathic voice brushed up on their minds like a gentle wave of water, getting all their attention.


    Kael stood casually with his hands behind his back and posed a regal stance of authority. Even though he talked casually, it still carried that tone of authority that had appeared at some point in the past.


    "...I want to thank you all, wolves, foxes, and lionesses. Yesterday''s battle would not have been in our favor if it wasn''t for you all and the sacrifices of your comrades.


    The efforts you put in to ensure our victory did not go unnoticed. So now, I will be rewarding you all.


    And I know there is very little reward to go around, we only have fifteen. There will still be rewards for everyone." Kael said.


    His words brought about a weird mix of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness. At this point, they all knew that the fifteen corpses would go to only fifteen people. Many of them already knew that they wouldn''t get it, but some still held on to hope.


    Some wondered what exactly the reward Kael wanted to give all of them.


    Many of them also remembered that there was the corpse of that Tiger, but none of them dared to voice it out.


    "And so, for the first reward¡­" Kael said as he waved his hand behind him. One of the vines shook and twisted as it lowered itself and brought one of the bodies down beside Kael


    "The first reward will be going to Ken, please come forward," Kael announced.


    The wolves didn''t react much, simply giving ignorant growls or noisy barks that didn''t mean anything. The foxes, however, were flabbergasted.


    Vixy looked like she had just swallowed a disgusting fly as she looked at the white fox walking up to the front to stand before Kael. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ken was nervous, he didn''t imagine that this would be happening under the gazes of so many kingdom citizens.


    As though Kael was enjoying this, the next words he said nearly caused Ken to have a heart attack.


    "This reward is for being the only person to have suggested leaving the comfort of your safe caves and picking up the loot while our wolves fought.


    I heard that your other foxes also tried to stop you out of fear, but you were courageous and bold.


    If not for you and your great idea, the loot would have been destroyed and there would be nothing to give out as reward.


    For that, I thank you." Kael ended his words with an innocent smile on his handsome face, perfectly aware of the implications of his words.


    Now, Ken felt like looking for a hole to live in for the rest of his life. He could feel the piercing gaze of his fellow foxes, especially Vixy''s gaze.

 Chapter 134: Giving Rewards

    Ken¡¯s head shrunk in, he was unable to handle so many intense gazes all at once.


    He didn¡¯t expect that Kael would paint him in such a light and he didn¡¯t know how to feel about it.


    Vixy was currently staring daggers at him, her bright eyes struggled to contain the raging darkness within. Her claws emerged without her notice, digging deep into the soil as a way to channel her anger.


    Not just her, but the other fox merchants were also looking at Ken with mixed feelings. Of all the feelings they felt when looking at Kael, betrayal was at the top.


    Ken recognized the look of betrayal in their eyes and he understood how they felt. The way Kael had worded his sentence had been so¡­strange. But he dared not try to correct Kael.


    Unbeknownst to him, Vixy had created a telepathic channel among the other foxes, excluding Ken completely.


    "I knew Ken was ambitious but I didn¡¯t know it was this bad¡­" One of the foxes muttered in the telepathic channel.


    "Yeah, that must have been why he was smiling and looking so confident when he came with the king." Another one said.


    "Yes, he must have told the King about him, suggesting the idea and taking all the credit for himself."


    "That bastard, I was also making the same suggestion, did he think he would have done anything if only he had that idea?"


    "What¡¯s worse is that he made it sound like he did all the work, what about us dragging the corpses down the mountain while dodging falling rocks?"


    "Not just that, the king also mentioned that he was met with resistance. Is that what he really told the King?"


    "He¡¯s obviously aiming at Madam Vixy. He tried to woo Madam Vixy and use her to gain status, but he did not succeed." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yeah, now he¡¯s painting Madam Vixy in a bad light, after all she had done for us. We should kick him out of the Caste group later on¡­" One of the foxes who was brimming with anger suggested, his nostrils flared as he felt righteous indignation.


    "Kick him out? Can¡¯t you see that the King now sees him in a favorable light? What do you want to tell the king when he asks why Ken is no longer part of us?" Another one asked the crucial question.


    "I can¡¯t believe Ken would do this to us,"


    "Well, he succeeded, didn¡¯t he? Now he¡¯ll be in the good races of King Kael, what a loser,"


    The telepathic channel was filled with complaints at first but it slowly settled into anger, then acceptance, with some still harboring resentment.


    Vixy, the anchor of the telepathic channel and the one who had set it up, listened to their opinions with a cold gaze.


    She noticed that the group was being divided into three subgroups now. One group of the foxes were firm supporters of Vixy and were angry at the fact that Ken would go behind her to tell King Kael such a thing.


    Another group was subtly supporting Ken¡¯s decision and acknowledging his decisiveness. These foxes just wanted to create a good relationship with Ken now that he seemed to be ascending in status.


    The last group was the majority, consisting of foxes who remained neutral. They also complained but did not make it known who they were supporting, although it was very likely that they would lean more towards Vixy.


    Either way, Vixy stared at all the happenings with a cold indifferent gaze. Whatever emotion she had previously upheld because of these kinsmen of hers had completely shattered to pieces.


    All the trust she had been developing for the fox merchants crashed down like a tower with its foundation suddenly removed. Her heart grew unnaturally cold, caging all the inner turmoil and locking them up, vowing to never let her feel such disappointment again.


    She knew what Ken was after. She hadn¡¯t given him a chance to become her life partner, and now he was going after her position.


    Vixy didn¡¯t know Kael¡¯s true intention on this, perhaps he was just pointing out to her that she was surrounded by snakes in fox skin, or maybe he was considering replacing her.


    The weight of the second possibility burdened her mind. She had given so much up just to keep this position and she hadn¡¯t even acquired it for a long time.


    She had been decisive, giving up her chance for revenge, she had buried her feelings for Ivan so that she could work with the lion who killed him.


    Unfortunately, only Kael and the lionesses knew just how decisive Vixy was.


    At the end of the day, they were all greedy, cunning foxes who were more focused on profits than comradeship. Obviously, they would tend to think only for themselves and disregard the feelings of others if it meant that they would gain more benefits.


    She had originally been opposed to the idea of leaving the meat stash cave to search for loot because she was worried about their safety, they were her only supporters in the budding nameless kingdom after all.


    But it seemed her good intentions had been ignored and used against her. She also knew how to be cunning, she also knew how to be greedy, she also knew how to be a Fox.


    ¡¯If that is how you want to play this game, so be it then,¡¯ Vixy thought to herself as she hid her killing intent.


    Kael reached out to take the carcass of the tier 3 beast, easily raising it and placing it in front of Ken. He seemed oblivious to the division he had created in the fox merchant caste.


    Ken snapped out of his state of deep thought after the carcass was placed in front of him.


    "Congratulations," Kael said with an innocent smile on his face. Ken shuddered when he saw this smile. Though innocent, it filled him with a sense of uneasiness.


    Looking at the carcass in front of him, he resolved himself to his fate. He had made a decision and he would stand by it to the end. He was just one step closer to what he wanted, there was still a way to go.


    Kael directed two wolves to come to the front and help Ken drag the body of the beast.


    Many wolves and foxes eyed Ken, hoping that he would give them a piece of his reward once they were done. Even if they couldn¡¯t get the reward, there¡¯s still hope in leeching off those who got them.


    Soon, silence returned and the crowd refocused their gaze on Kael. There were only fourteen rewards left, who would receive the next reward?


    "The second reward will be going to Vixy, please come forward," Kael announced.


    His words were like thunder sticks beating a war drum, resounding in the minds of all that heard it. The heart of the wolves wavered as another person who was not them had taken a reward.


    Vixy had a blank expression on her face as she was not able to react immediately. She had been lost in thought, planning on what to do about Ken.


    She had thought that Ken had taken the only reward that would have been given to the foxes. She didn¡¯t expect Kael to call her name at all.


    As she walked to the front to stand at the elevated ground, she wrecked her brains, wondering what Kael could possibly be calling her for.


    She stood in front of the crowd, not as nervous as Ken had been. She exuded an air of nobility as her three red tails swirled behind her, attracting the gaze of the onlookers.


    Kael continued, his smile a bit more genuine and sincere than before. "Vixy, this reward is for seamlessly taking charge of the fox merchants and helping the kingdom facilitate commerce.


    You also helped manage the meat stash for the wolf warriors, and for that, I and the wolves are grateful.


    In the future, when the sub-caste option is available to all creatures of the kingdom, you will be the reason why many will flock to merchant life."


    Kaels words rang in the minds of Vixy and all that cared to pay attention. The foxes especially paid attention to the king¡¯s words as they contained so much information.


    ¡¯What did he mean by sub-caste?¡¯ Many of them wondered, even Vixy did not know what Kael was talking about.


    But she was more interested in Kael¡¯s appreciation for her work. Yes, one activity wasn¡¯t enough to counter all the time and work she had put into working with the lions.


    ¡¯Just because I am replaceable doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯d be the one to replace me,¡¯ Vixy thought. This turn of events didn¡¯t shake her sudden desire to get rid of Ken. No, it felt more like Kael was giving her indirect permission to do as she saw fit.


    As always, with politics, nothing was ever as it appeared to be.


    The carcass Vixy was giving as a reward was the body of the Fire Weasel that had been killed by Eidel.


    It wasn¡¯t too large and she was still slightly physically superior to Ken, so she had no problem dragging it away until she was in the midst of the excited foxes.


    Now, they had two rewards going to their factions. Those closest to Ken and Vixy were happy because they were sure to get something too.


    Kael waited for the crowd to quiet down again before speaking again.


    "Only thirteen rewards left," He said with a playful smirk.


    "The winner of the third reward is¡­"

 Chapter 135 135: Preferences And Desires

    ¡­Zabita!" Kael finished his sentence by calling the name of one of his consorts.


    Compared to the case of Vixy and Ken, the crowd wasn''t too surprised to hear Kael call the name of his consort to reward her.


    They had even expected it from the beginning. This was just how the wild worked, they wouldn''t complain that it was unfair because it wasn''t.


    It wasn''t like in modern civilizations where spouses could attach themselves to a high-value man or woman without having any value themselves.


    Kael had seen it all too often in his past life, women would chase after successful men and if possible get married to those successful men. Most times, these women did not have any intrinsic value to their person apart from being extremely beautiful.


    They barely had any skill in making money, and if they had, it was out of reluctance. They tended to go by the term ''stay-at-home wives'' or ''housewives''.


    Kael did not have anything against housewives at all, his Earthly mother had been a housewife while his father supported the entire family with his well-paying job.


    But after two divorces, he had grown to appreciate someone who could share in the effort he was putting into their life.


    It was simply a matter of preference and ambition. If he were to return to Earth with the same information of ambition he currently had, he would know the type of women he wanted and where to find them. He wouldn''t waste energy on someone who couldn''t contribute to achieving his goals.


    That was the crucial thing, achieving his goals. Any woman who thought to tie him down with emotions will find themselves used and discarded brutally.


    But he was no longer on Earth.


    Here in this wild world, there was no such thing as a stay-at-home lioness. Such a mentality would cause the lionesses to be abandoned and starve to death.


    After all, the mothers who went hunting even after having children didn''t have two heads. It was also unrealistic to expect one lion to hunt and feed all the lionesses in his pride.


    Even for creatures who bonded to one life partner, there was barely a case of just one of them hunting and providing for the whole family.


    To be close to someone like Kael and remain his consort, strength was crucial. Kings have been known to fall out of love with those mistresses who lost their value outside of being a king''s mistress, Kael was not an exception.


    And Zabita had that strength. To be able to keep up with all of Kael''s plans was not easy. Many of them remembered seeing Zabita slashing crazily at the strong bodies of the powerful enemies.


    Zabita walked out of the crowd silently. Her metal claws created audible clanking sounds with every step she took. She was simply elegant yet her eyes could not hide the lack of motivation.


    The way she looked when she glanced at the crowd was with a hint of laziness. Like she would rather be sleeping in a dark cave than being standing in front of them.


    Her eyelids dropped halfway, covering half of her eyes and giving her a lazy look. Kael knew that that was just how she looked on a regular day and her appearance did not exactly reflect how she was inside.


    After handing Zabita''s reward to her, Kael continued with announcing the next person to receive the reward.


    "...Diane!" He called.


    The wolves, foxes, and lionesses watched as a muscular lioness, bigger than the others, walked to the front to stand with Kael.


    Everybody knew Diane, the biggest lioness in Kael''s group. The only person bigger than her was Kael.


    "...Ruda!" Kael called again after he gave Diane one of the hanging carcasses.


    Another familiar lioness walked to the front. Her purple fur and the electricity that coursed through her body were not something that was easily forgotten. The most energetic and impulsive of all the lionesses.


    "... Olivia!" Kael said. This time, a lot of people in the crowd frowned. Even Burdo could not help but furrow his eyebrows.


    Wasn''t Olivia a chubby lioness who barely did any work apart from supporting from the side?


    To most of them, Olivia was not that strong. Although, for a tier 2 lioness, she was quite capable of killing a lot of creatures on her own with her physical might, most of them saw it as coincidence or luck.


    Besides joining in on some fights and supporting the fighters, Olivia barely did anything in yesterday''s fight. She spent most of her time running around frantically as though she was trying to cover as much ground as possible while everyone was busy fighting.


    Not many knew that Olivia was very important and her support went beyond just physical means.


    Kael, sensing the confusion and displeasure from his subjects, didn''t entertain it. He frowned slightly as his aura became more suffocating and oppressive.


    Those closest to him immediately lowered their heads, not daring to look into his stern eyes.


    So what if they were dissatisfied? Did they have the power to challenge his decision? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all was said and done, six valuable carcasses had been rewarded. Two of which were in the paws of the foxes and four were in the jaws of the lionesses.


    This meant that there were only seven reward spots left. Who would it be? They all wondered.


    "And now, the next in the list¡­" Kael began, pausing for dramatic effect.


    "... Commander Bibi!"


    Immediately, the wolveset out joyful barks. Finally, one of theirs had received a reward.


    Commander Bibi sighed with relief. He had expected to be one of those to get a piece of the loot distribution but things were never fully certain with Kael.


    He walked his scared, large body to the front just as Kael controlled the vines to drop the body of the metallic-scaled snake.


    Commander Bibi had to control himself from drooling. Just the sight of it alone had already worked up his appetite.


    Sure, he would have to work his way around the metal scales but that was for another time, he could just make his wolves do it for him.


    Finally, with this high-powered corpse, he would be able to advance to tier 3 wolf, the same level his father had been before his death.


    A faint lingering feeling of melancholy sprouted in his mind but he was quick to crush it. Nothing, not even his feelings would come in the way of his desires.


    With the help of other wolves, Bibi managed to get the snake''s body away from the presentation ground.


    Kael glanced around, seeing Burdo and his other lionesses who had recently evolved. He didn''t plan on giving them any rewards, not because he didn''t appreciate them, but because there was just no use.


    For Burdo, Kael would prefer to keep him at a point where he would think twice before he made any trouble. After all, Burdo didn''t really show any merit in the previous battle.


    Kael had ordered for him to be safe not because he cared, but because of the mysterious beach. Nothing should happen to Burdo until he was strung dry of all he was worth.


    As for the tier 3 lionesses, consuming tier 3 hearts or meat wouldn''t do much apart from restoring their energy.


    With all these thoughts in his mind, Kael called Commander Bibi to the front again.


    "How may I help Your Majesty?" Commander Bibi asked with a weird wolfish grin that made him look scary.


    He was just too excited right now, he felt that he had to show his gratitude and loyalty more often, maybe Kael would give him more of these good gifts.


    "I want you to take these six carcasses and distribute them among the wolves who performed well on the battlefield.


    Leave one carcass for your deputies to share amongst themselves. They are all tier 2 and although it won''t take them to tier 3, it should help them increase their strength a bit.


    The remaining five should be shared with the most promising ordinary wolves. With this, we should be expecting a new batch of tier 2 wolves."


    Kael didn''t say those words in a private telepathic channel, all the wolves and foxes heard it.


    The surroundings erupted with the sound of dozens of joyful barks and howls. That they were excited was an understatement.


    Especially the deputies, they had a sudden urge to wage more wars if it meant they would be getting this type of benefit.


    "Why didn''t Bibi III do this kind of thing when he was alive? He had to wait for King Kael to come along¡­" One of the deputies, the newest and second Spirit wolf, said.


    "You know what, let us look for all those who don''t like the king¡­"


    "Yes yes yes, let us slaughter their entire generation, hehehe,"


    "If anyone looks at us with a bad eye, we''ll report it to the King. After that, we will go to war with those motherfu¡­"


    "Calm down guys, calm down. There''s plenty of bloodshed to go around."


    The deputy wolves had never felt so excited. It felt good to be rewarded, Kael was touching upon their inner dogs.


    Their sudden desire to go to war in the name of their king was not an uncalculated event, Kael had partially expected it.


    As Commander Bibi directed the wolves to start carrying carcasses, his mind frantically searched for anyone who he knew that Kael did not like outside the Kingdom''s circle.


    Anyone, just anyone would do.


    Fortunately or unfortunately, his mind settled on the two other wolf clans that operated inside the forest.

 Chapter 136: Learn From Duller

    Commander Bibi was tempted to go up to Kael and tell the king about the other wolf clans, maybe he had forgotten.


    No, how could he forget such a crucial thing? Bibi shook his head, it was weird that he was plotting again on race for the sake of little war benefits.


    This was something that the Lions would not do. It wasn¡¯t that lions were righteous and put their race above all else, their mentality just didn¡¯t allow it.


    Why would a lion help another race fight against his own kind when he could just team up with other lions and beat the said race to submission?


    It was a matter of priorities.


    Amidst the joyful barks and howls, Prince Burdo stood with his four lionesses, his scaled face remained calm but his eyes could not hide the grievance he felt.


    He had not done anything to assist them during the fight, instead, he had escaped to safety while his brother and his forces fought.


    He didn¡¯t deserve any rewards, that was basic sense. At least they saw Olivia on the battlefield doing whatever she had been doing, Prince Burdo was completely absent.


    The level of discontent that would rise if Kael had rewarded him was not something that could be quelled easily with dominating words.


    Still, Burdo felt a tinge of pain and regret, as well as greed. He hadn¡¯t done anything, yes, but that didn¡¯t stop him from coveting what did not belong to him.


    This was basically his second nature as it was now. As he saw the wolves and foxes rejoice with the valuable carcasses in their grasps, he felt at a loss. It wasn¡¯t like he could go ahead and forcefully take it from them¡­ not when those lionesses were occasionally casting a watchful eye his way.


    He had to make sure he didn¡¯t give Kael any reason to dispose of him.


    Meanwhile, behind Burdo and his five water lionesses, a large wolf stood not too far away with a cold expression. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The large grey wolf stared with barely hidden sharpness in his eyes. He looked at Burdo¡¯s back with a mix of disdain and resentment, wishing his gaze could cut the lion open.


    The scar that crossed over his cheek to his left eye was very menacing and added to his threatening demeanor. Currently, one of his eyes, the one that was crossed with a scar, was faded.


    Kael who stood tall with a smile on his face in front of the crowd saw this. He noticed the malevolent glare of this wolf, Duller.


    His expectations when he asked Duller to lead his brother to escape were not much. He had merely hoped for them to do something that would be a bit entertaining.


    At least, he wouldn¡¯t be bored after fighting Darius.


    "Mother, have you seen Burdo?" Kael asked telepathically to Nalii.


    Nalii frowned, "No," she shook her head. Burdo and Kael had met when Nalii was still slumbering and undergoing her evolution.


    After she came out of the cave with Eidel and Katari, she had not had the chance to take a good look around so she didn¡¯t even know that her other son was there.


    "Where is he?" She asked. Kael didn¡¯t answer, he simply stared intently at a particular direction.


    Nalii followed the direction Kael¡¯s eyes were looking at and followed his gaze. Her eyes landed on a larger-than-normal lion.


    Azure fish-like scales covered this lion¡¯s body and a single large dorsal fin stretched from his back to his neck while being in a folded state.


    Behind him were five lionesses with the same fish-like scales on their bodies. The only difference between Burdo and the lionesses was the dorsal fin which was possessed by Burdo only. Burdo also had a bulkier physique than them, a testament to his superior male lion genes.


    Burdo¡¯s greenish-yellow amphibian-like eyes locked with Nalii¡¯s. Although she was now in her human form, he could recognize her by scent and the two antlers that rested atop her head.


    ¡¯Mother,¡¯ He thought in his mind, he wanted her to notice him, to frown and then smile at him, to hug him and rub heads with him as mother and son.


    He wanted to feel validated by his mother, maybe she would not forget that Burdo was also her son.


    Alas, Burdo was destined to be wounded by his own imagination. Nii frowned when she finally recognized her son as the scaled water lion.


    However, she didn¡¯t step forward to greet him, she didn¡¯t walk over to him or gestured for him to come to her. She simply frowned


    It wasn¡¯t the mind of frown someone had when they were worried, it wasn¡¯t the kind that appeared on a mother¡¯s face when she saw her son doing something wrong.


    No, it was the type of frown someone had when they saw something annoying and disturbing.


    Nalii had long lost her motherly feelings towards Burdo, not after all the bold moves he pulled back at the Hot Lion pride.


    To her, she only had three children, Eidel, Ruda, and Kael. Even Pavel was long forgotten. And of those three, Kael was the one who carried the most importance.


    Kael observed his mother¡¯s reaction with a satisfied grin. This was what he wanted, for him to be the only son worth thinking of in Nalii¡¯s heart, her whole world should revolve around him and him alone.


    "Do you guys see that wolf behind them, the one with a scar on his face?" Kael asked.


    This question was directed to all the four tier 3 lionesses beside him, not just Nalii. The four humanoids directed their gazes toward the wolf standing behind Burdo¡¯s Pride.


    Compared to the rest of the wolves who were rejoicing at the rewards that had been given to them, this tier 2 wolf didn¡¯t seem interested.


    His gloomy mood stood as a contrast to the lively atmosphere of those surrounding him.


    "He¡¯s a potential traitor, and a very scheming one. I was thinking of executing him but that would spoil the mood. Execution without charge breeds the wrong type of fear.


    So since we can¡¯t do anything about him, not without facing some issues, I wish to observe him, study him, and learn from him.


    I want to know how the mind of a traitor works, and how would he plan his rebellion. What would he do? Who would he work with?


    But as I do that, I am not against killing him if it gets too far. So I want you to keep your eyes on him, report any move he makes, the creatures he talks to, the places he goes.


    Using him, we will learn how to quell rebellions and handle people like him easily in the future."


    Kael¡¯s words were reasonable to the four humanoids, although N¡¯bay¨¦ found it to be a bit too risky.


    Kael was learned and had a bit of knowledge on past kings on earth, but that was it, mostly surface knowledge. He didn¡¯t really know the happenings of different eras.


    There were a lot of rebellions that happened in the history of Earth. Some of them succeeded and some of them failed, all with different consequences.


    Kael didn¡¯t know much about them other than the fact that they had happened. He didn¡¯t know how to stop a rebellion, neither did he know how to prevent it.


    If he had known he would be in this state after dying, he would have made an effort to learn more about history and the strategies of different rules.


    Now that he was here, he could only improvise. He could execute Duller, fine and good. But that was just a short-term solution, there was no strategy or prevention, just a cure after illness.


    What he needed was experience, no lion was around to mentor him on how best to be a king and how to deal with threats to his kingdom.


    Katari was silent, staring at Duller far longer and more intensely than the other. If not that Kael didn¡¯t want this wolf dead, she would have taken the initiative to kill him on her own.


    Duller had only made himself known after Bibi III died and Katari had just entered her evolution slumber. Duller had been operating for so long because the person who was active in hunting down people like him was asleep.


    N¡¯bay¨¦ glanced at the wolf, drawing up schemes in her mind as she thought of what to do. This was a direct order from Kael, to watch this unstable entity.


    Subconsciously, she placed her hands on her abdomen, as though she wanted to feel something. Her face turned indifferent and calm after, she didn¡¯t feel anything but she could tell that something was different.


    She was carrying Kael¡¯s first child, and it would be her first time becoming a mother.


    For some reason though, the importance of this child didn¡¯t carry the same weight as the importance of Kael. To her, she could always have children as much as she wanted l, but there would never be another Kael.


    Perhaps, in this pride, only she and Kael knew the significance of a Primordial Lion to the whole lion race.


    Compared to that, committing motherhood to this unborn child seemed like a waste of time, there was still so much to achieve and much more knowledge to acquire.


    As N¡¯bay¨¦ thought in this direction, her expression became colder and more indifferent.

 Chapter 137 137: Stubborn Goat

    Kael raised his hands and clapped them together multiple times. The crisp and loud sound of two power palms hitting each other instantly got the attention of the crowd.


    Commander Bibi had to calm his deputies down, he was already discussing how to provoke some factions in the forest to attack them, any reason to go to war.


    Kael looked down to see so many furry tails wagging, a sign of the inner joy the wolves were currently experiencing.


    Now that he got their attention, he spoke again, "Remember that earlier I told you of a reward that I would give everyone?"


    Kael paused to keep the vibe dramatic, the wolves waited for him to continue with their pointed ears focused even though they weren''t actually going to receive actual audible words.


    "All of you, from now on, will be given titles and ranks. Each one of you who is present here today will be given ranks by your superiors.


    This means that you all will be out in a position of power. Of course, these titles and ranks won''t be effective immediately.


    However, anyone who joins the kingdom after you will automatically be under your command.


    Rejoice, you all have a role to play in this kingdom."


    At the end of Kael''s words, the majority of wolves and foxes still looked confused. Only a few were able to grasp the implications of what Kael had just said.


    Kael was basically granting them superiority over any creature that joined them in the future.


    Even if a tier 2 wolf joined in the future, the wolves who had been here since day one would be prioritized and would receive more rewards.


    ''The games we play for loyalty,'' Kael thought. Loyalty was all he wanted from the crowd right now, and he was continuously creating schemes and tests to increase the loyalty of his subjects.


    Now, that the distribution of rewards was done, all that was left was for each caste leader to brief their kind on what to do.


    "What did you mean when you mentioned sub-castes?" N''bay¨¦ suddenly asked.


    "Oh, it''s just something I''ve been thinking of doing lately. I''ve been thinking that maybe enforcing one caste on a specific race might need some adaptations.


    The whole concept is good and it has been working well so far, but I''m starting to think more about the future these days. I want something effective, but I also want it to last.


    Caging the animals to just one caste could cause a lot of tension in the future.


    The right for these creatures to pick optional sub-castes is my idea of making the system flexible. Although, it still needs some polishing though."


    Kael said those words, turning around to look at the top of the mountain. He wanted everything to be intertwined with each other, a machine that needed every part to function properly.


    N''bay¨¦ nodded her head, she also liked the idea and agreed that it would need some polishing before it was implemented.


    "Enough of that, we have threats looming far away and we must make preparations.


    Has Natalia delivered what I asked for?" He asked.


    "No, after now, some wolves and foxes will be sent to the meeting point to see if they can collect the package," N''bay¨¦ responded cordially.


    "Okay, that''s fine.


    I''m planning on using Darius''s body to set up a trap, a really good one. I''ll need your help with that."


    "I''ll work on it as soon as I leave here. But if I may ask, what is this trap for?" N''bay¨¦ asked.


    "Birds," Kael responded casually, "I need birds,"


    "Hmm, okay."


    "Tell Commander Bibi to immediately start sending recruiters all over the forest. Any new animal that wants to join should be put on a waiting list and brought to me when I''m ready,"


    "Yes sir,"


    "Good, let''s go see that goat you guys captured."


    With that, all five of them moved to another cave, unescorted but their auras were impressive.


    The cave they arrived at was a bit smaller, big enough to contain four years before being filed up.


    At the entrance of this cave was a dense cluster of magic runes and stones floated by the side, ready to attack whatever came out of this dark abode.


    Kael observed the runes and magic runes inscribed everywhere. His knowledge was limited but he could see that they were tapping from a power source other than N''bay¨¦.


    Probably the magic energy with she had been storing in the six magic trees for a long time.


    The output of these magic stones and runes, however, was limited. This cage would not be able to contain a tier 4 being.


    The runes deactivated as Kael approached, and N''bay¨¦ controlled it from behind.


    Kael stopped just in front of the cave, seeing the inside very clearly, as well as the humanoid currently sitting down in one corner.


    "Hey there," Kael sent out a telepathic message to the curled-up humanoid. He clasped his hands behind him and his shoulders straightened, the pose of a king.


    The humanoid raised his head to see who had spoken to him.


    Kael observed this humanoid well, taking in every detail as much as he could. What was so special about this particular enemy that N''bay¨¦ felt he would take interest?


    The humanoid looked¡­different. On his head were two curled goat horns, big enough to take a lot of head space. He had very scanty brown hair that mostly grew out of the back of his head.


    His eyes were big and round, with dark yellow irises. His eyes jammed with Kael''s golden eyes and the atmosphere seemed to become tense. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do you have a name?" Kael asked.


    The horned humanoid continued to look at Kael, giving him no answer. Suddenly, he stood up, revealing his short size.


    Compared to Kael who was infinitely close to seven feet in height, this goat man appeared to be very small.


    Despite his small stature, his aura was not something to be ignored. Standing there, observing Kael, he seemed to be one step away from causing an earthquake.


    The goat man took a single step forward, causing a low sound to echo out. This man''s weight was immense, even the ground shook slightly from his steps.


    The goat man had a nice-looking curly brown beard hundred his chin, adding to his appeal.


    "You must be Kael," The goat man said, ignoring Kael''s question.


    Kael frowned, "Yes I am, what is your name?"


    The goat man sighed, he suddenly looked like a man who had been pushed to the limit and had to bounce back.


    "So you are the one that caused this? You''re the reason I''m here?" The goat man squeezed his face and his body vibrated.


    Kael narrowed his eyes dangerously, the golden irises began shining and his body tensed.


    *BOOM!*


    The goat man disappeared from his position, appearing next in front of Kael with his hand stretched out to deliver a punch.


    The fist, unfortunately, landed on the shimmering transparent red barrier in front of the cave entrance.


    Kael still had his hands clasped behind his back, his expression was calm like someone who had everything under control.


    The transparent red barrier was right in front of his face and behind that barrier was the goat man''s fist.


    *BOOM!*


    *BOOM!*


    The goat man continued punching but couldn''t do anything to the barrier. All the cracks that appeared disappeared very quickly, indirectly telling the goat man that his efforts were futile.


    The stoic expression that Kael kept on his face endlessly infuriated him. He wished he could get out of this prison and tear the skin off Kael''s skull.


    "I''ll ask again, what is your name?" Kael asked, his patience waning. He was tempted to kill this goat immediately and feed his heart to any other loyal follower. His tolerance for this kind of person was very limited.


    The goat man didn''t know that he was very close to being killed right now. If not for the barrier separating him from Kael, he would have discovered that Kael''s aura was vastly superior to his own.


    The prison, in a way, was also protecting him.


    The goat man ignored Kael''s question once again. He performed all manner of hand and leg movements to summon the power of the earth but nothing happened.


    The runes inscribed on the walls and the floor prevented the goat man from accessing his powers. It was like there was another thin invisible barrier disconnecting him from the earth.


    "Very well then," Kael stated with indifference, "You could have left this place today but I see you just want to be stubborn.


    Eidel, arrange it and make sure no food or water makes its way to this place.


    N''bay¨¦, once in a while, whenever you remember, zap him a little to drain him of his energy.


    Let us see how long he can continue with this attitude."


    With that said, Kael turned around to leave. The four women behind him glanced coldly at the goat man.


    The goat man, still proving stubborn, continued to hammer on the barrier with all his might. Still, nothing happened.

 Chapter 138 138: Thawnes Depravity

    Three months later.


    Far away from Kael''s budding kingdom, in an area that had a lot of hills. Every turn one took would lead to their eyes meeting the large figure of a distant mountain.


    It was a beautiful sight, but it was also discomforting. The presence of these hills made it hard for anyone to have a proper view of the forest from afar because the hills would always block a part of their vision.


    The creatures who shared this feeling of discomfort were the current settlers of this area.


    Spread out all over the vicinity were buildings with different structures and different designs. Some of these buildings looked crude like they had been built hurriedly with no sense of fashion in mind.


    Some looked very beautiful, with white walls and clean glass windows. These buildings looked like modern-styled villas, even the lights that hung from the walls looked like light bulbs.


    If not for the magic aura oozing off the bodies of these magic lanterns, an inexperienced observer would mistake them for something else.


    There were only a few of these beautiful buildings, around sixteen in total. While there were numerous crude huts and bungalows.


    Large rats the size of dogs came in and out of these hits and bungalows, going about their day and trying to complete their daily tasks.


    These large rats were numerous and their exact number couldn''t be estimated with all of them movies around so much.


    But with all of their numbers, these rats still had a fearful and submissive expression whenever they came close to one of those beautiful villas.


    They looked at the walls with trepidation, they silently prayed to the god that the entities resting within those buildings would have no reason to come out.


    Their masters, the entities that enclosed themselves in the walls of the beautiful villas, were not necessarily bad people, but they were rarely nice.


    Their masters were predators, creatures designed to hunt, pursue, and dominate other creatures. It was in their instinct to be anything but nice.


    Only after passing by the perimeter of the beautiful villas without encountering any misfortune would they breathe a sigh of relief and allow their expressions to return to normal.


    This was a common occurrence in this settlement. The presence of fear and tyranny was so thick that it could almost be tasted.


    At the center of this unique settlement was the iconic magic shuttle of the lion race. Its unique design bore the same cruelty and superiority complex that stormed the minds of all lions.


    Even their craft work mirrored their state of mind and culture. A single glance at the massive magic shuttle would cause all the rats to feel a sense of oppression, the kind that was very hard to resist.


    Even though they had entered this world with this magic shuttle, it didn''t change how it made them feel. They would rather not be anywhere near it.


    Many of the rats stood guard over one big warehouse-like building, some of them patrolled the areas outside the vicinity. Some were actively scouting beyond the hills and coming back with reports.


    A group of rats cut down trees or dug down to extract minerals from the ground. Every rat was doing something


    Even the unfortunate rats that found themselves in one of the villas at these dark hours were also doing something. It''s just the activities going on in this particular villa were that of utter depravity.


    "YES! YES! YES! AARGH! YES!" A loud voice that translated the deep feeling of ecstasy responded through all the rooms of the villa.


    Inside the villa, on the top floor, there was a bedroom. This bedroom was unnecessarily big with an equally big bed in the center.


    This room was currently filled with a dirty stench. The place was hot and dried stains of body fluids as well as blood still stuck to the fabrics that littered the room.


    Thawne, the blonde-haired chubby young man and one of the youths that had come to this world with Prince Xu Ying, was currently naked in this big bedroom of his.


    Right now, he was furiously pounding his pelvis into the furry hind of a female bear. He repeatedly thrust his penis into the anus of this bear, earning him low growls of pain and pleasure, mostly pain.


    The female bear he was aggressively having sex with at the moment had brown fur with the usual large build of a grizzly bear.


    Thawne had his hands stretched out and wrapped around the furry neck, somehow managing to hold her still while he continued his act. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Despite the difference in size, Thawne actually had a much higher strength than the female bear. She was just an ordinary bear, after all, not even awakened her heart yet. There was no way she could resist the strength of Thawne.


    "ARGH! This is the life!" Thawne proclaimed mid-thrust, choking the female bear and forcing her head to remain in one place.


    "Fucking whatever I want, and eating whatever I fuck¡­" As Thawne finished his sentence, he removed one of his hands from the neck of the female bear, allowing her to breathe in more air.


    This feeling of relief didn''t last as she felt a tearing and agonizing pain from her shoulder. She let out a terrifying cry of sorrow as her body quivered from the stinging pain.


    She was able to turn her head slightly to see that Thawne had ruthlessly ripped out a piece of flesh from her shoulder and was munching on the raw meat with delight.


    He held the meat by the strands of fur and dangled it close to his mouth. He patted his lips to reveal his sharp white teeth.


    He easily tore into the bear''s flesh, allowing blood to drip down his mouth and down his strong chin.


    The blood flowed down his moving body, mixing with his glistening sweat and giving him the image of absolute debauchery.


    Even with all the suffering the female bear was going through, she dared not move away. Even if she wanted to, she couldn''t, Thawne was just too strong. Any attempt to move away would just anger him.


    She had seen what happened to those other creatures who had done such a thing and was a witness to the fatal consequences.


    *Knock! Knock!*


    There was a knock on the double doors of the bedroom. The knock caused Thawne to pause his vigorous movements, to the joy of the female bear.


    Thawne frowned, a low growl almost escaping from his throat, "I''m busy," He said.


    He was wondering why the person outside didn''t use his or her senses to know that he was busy with something. Wasn''t he loud enough?


    He was about to continue when the person behind the door spoke, "It''s me, Isaiah,"


    Thawne immediately stopped what he was doing, releasing his hold on the bear''s neck. "What is it?" he asked.


    When the female bear heard the voice of Isiah, her body shook as she was overcome with fear. This was the person who captured and delivered her to this depraved man who was ravaging her.


    Thawne himself grew cautious after he knew he was talking to Isaiah. He wasn''t scared of Isaiah, not in the slightest.


    However, he was weary. Isiah was cunning, very cunning. He had used three months to learn a little about the youths and had helped them indulge in their erratic ways.


    Each of them had something different that they liked to do. Like Thawne who enjoyed violent sexual intercourse with animals of other races, the others also had guilty pleasures.


    Isiah had not remained idle amid lions all these days. He had patiently let them reveal these guilty pleasures of theirs on their own with a little bit of persuasion here and there.


    He had been very careful not to anger any of them and had also paid attention to their culture. He didn''t want to get all of them angry a second time, it was hard to say if Xu Ying would protect him or just watch in amusement.


    Either way, Isaiah had proven himself. He had made effort to provide to the best of his abilities. Thawne was especially grateful to him for bringing him his ''materials'' to indulge in.


    This was also why Thawne was weary of Isiah. It was not in his nature to feel gratitude for anyone who wasn''t very close to him, and Isaiah was definitely not close. He felt like he was being manipulated.


    "Prince Xu Ying has called for all of you to meet in his villa," Isiah said while keeping his expression calm.


    Behind the door, his green eyes faced the ground and he scrunched up his nose in an attempt to avoid to dirty smell.


    He ignored the growls of pain he was hearing from the bear inside the bedroom. That wasn''t his concern, anything that didn''t help him with his revenge against Kael was not of his concern.


    "I''ll see myself out Young Master Thawne, I have to pass this message to the others," Isiah said, no one could tell what was going on in his mind from the sound of his voice at all.


    Thawne sighed when he heard the sound of footsteps fading away.


    He released the bear from his clutches, allowing her to fall to the wooden ground without any strength to support herself.


    Thawne''s penis, which was covered in blood slipped out of the female bear''s anus and this did not bother him in any way.


    He walked away, getting ready to clean himself inside the massive stone tub that he had in this villa. As he looked away, he let the matter of the female bear go to the back of his mind while he thought about the reason Xu Ying was calling him.

 Chapter 139 139: Isaiahs Plan

    Isiah walked out of the villa, ignoring the still audible low growls of the female bear.


    His body shuddered whenever he thought of what Thawne liked to do with all those female beasts he brought back.


    Ever since he came here, he had spent a good amount of time observing and analyzing each of the lions.


    Of course, most of them could not be understood with just mere observation. People like Xu Ying and Alora were difficult to read and Isaiah couldn''t do more than that.


    He refrained from trying to study Prince Xu Ying particularly because he sensed that it would be a very bad idea. Prince Xu Ying''s power was unfathomable and the depths of his aura were mind-boggling.


    The few times that Xu Ying released a bit of his power caused Isaiah to shrink back and made him even think of escaping. It was safe to say that Xu Ying was far stronger than Darius when he was alive.


    Xu Ying was also the one who chose to accommodate him. Although Isiah had no sense of gratitude with his mind occupied by revenge, he had to make sure he was in Xu Ying''s good side as that would make the youths think twice before going against him.


    As he walked, his eyes would occasionally catch a flashing glimpse of his shoulder. Even after all this time, Isiah remained naked in his human form.


    The lions seemed to have a tradition of wearing clothes while leaving their non-lion subordinates naked. He wasn''t complaining though, he was used to the nakedness and that was how he had been living since he evolved into his current power level.


    On his bare shoulder was a glowing tattoo, red and blue mixed to form a triangle-shaped mark. There was a faint itching feeling that came from the rune tattoo.


    Isiah didn''t know what this rune was for. He had woken up one day to find Prince Xu Ying standing over him with a satisfied smile on his face.


    "Only now will I trust you," Xu Ying had said. Isiah guessed that the rune would be used to track him, or maybe read something more advanced. He didn''t care though, as long as he got to skin Kael and wear his golden coat over his feathers, no sacrifice was too small.


    He had not only studied them but also helped them drown in the pleasures of the mortal world. Only then did the young lions start to see Isiah in a better light.


    Most of them had harmless pleasures. Some liked to get intoxicated by certain herbs, some enjoyed the taste of different types of meat, and some just loved to dissect and study new creatures.


    Alora was one of the few who didn''t open up much. Her frost lionheart seemed to extend its effects lol the way to her mind, making this beautiful albino humanoid appear cold-hearted and aloof.


    Isaiah didn''t force it, if he pressed on it would seem too suspicious. At least he managed to get closer to Alora''s closest friend, the black-winged lady called Chloe.


    Getting on Chloe''s good side had been very dangerous and unsettling for Isaiah, a reminder of the type of creatures he was surrounding himself with.


    Chloe was an Air Lioness, possessing wings, hollowed bones, and feathers, with altered genes to help harness her powers better.


    And for obvious reasons, Chloe loved the taste of avian creatures, particularly the meat of big birds. It wasn''t an addiction and more of a preference. But Chloe wouldn''t shy away from free bird meat if it came her way.


    And unfortunately, Isiah was a bird, a really big bird. Whenever he talked to her, she would strangely look at him while licking her lips.


    Perhaps, Chloe was too lazy to fly and hunt birds on her own, or she had just not found a bird big enough to satiate her appetite.


    Isaiah got on her good side by taking the initiative to hunt down big birds who were weaker than him and delivering them to the lioness.


    Of all the youths, Thawne was the most extreme and depraved. It was immediately clear that Thawne came from a place where he had been spoiled and allowed to do the most intrusive thing that came to his mind.


    Thawne liked to have sex with creatures from other races, something that was considered unthinkable for the noble lions.


    No offspring could ever be produced with such acts and the creatures themselves had no backing. Thawne could do whatever he wanted to them and the youths would not care at all.


    Even Xu Ying acted like he didn''t know what Thawne was always up to inside his Villa. For Isiah, such acts were hard to understand, he couldn''t even see himself getting attracted to anything that wasn''t a crane, talking less of other creatures.


    However, he was not ignorant and was aware that these types of fetishes appear once in a while from the most unlikely places.


    Satisfying these young masters and helping them indulge in their pleasures was time and energy-consuming. Isiah mostly spent his day running around and performing errands while also trying his best to leave some subtle psychological suggestions in their mind.


    He had painted a picture in their minds, a picture of Kael. The foreign lions had come to see Kael as a submissive pushover who only fights when he is hungry. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the image he had created after observing the lions and the way they behaved.


    The lions seemed to glorify strength and despised weakness. They were dominating and would oppress anyone they perceived to be weak-willed.


    Giving them the idea that Kael was a lion who barely did anything other than hunt for food made Xu Ying and the rest frown.


    If they had been told that Kael was aggressive, and brutal and was expanding his domain while forcing other creatures into submission, they would not think too much about it, that was lion nature after all, to conquer and dominate.


    They might even try to ally with Kael if not just avoid him.


    But if they had the misconception that Kael was a spineless Lion, they would be curious for the wrong reason and seek to ''re-educate'' Kael on the principles of might.


    As Isiah walked from villa to villa, alerting the lion youths of Xu Ying''s call, he wondered to himself just where they had come from.


    These lions and lionesses had descended into this world in a strange metallic vessel through a strange portal.


    As a beast with some power over space, he could tell that that portal had been forcefully opened, the amount of energy needed to breach the fabric of space at such a scale was impossible to imagine.


    Just how far away was the other side?


    Isaiah never asked about their background, only listening to their conversations and silently collecting whatever information he could.


    The lions were never curious about how Isiah could speak their language, it didn''t seem to bother them and Isiah didn''t think too much of it.


    He had learned the spoken language from Darius and Darius was never too keen on telling him where he learned it from.


    "...Heaven¡­" He muttered to himself. That was a word he had heard too many times. He assumed heaven was just another world like his, they often spoke about going back to this heaven like it was their home.


    Isaiah too was curious, what did heaven look like? Was it like his world? Was the grass a different color? What did birds eat over there?


    With these thoughts going through his mind, Isaiah arrived at the entrance of another Villa.


    This villa was different, it had more edges and it didn''t just look like a well-decorated concrete box. It had another floor above the ground level and a well-kept compound was in front of it.


    Isaiah walked into the compound that was surrounded by small wooden fences. These fences were completely unnecessary and were only there to serve as decoration.


    Not far from him, close to the double doors that led into the villa, there was a stone table.


    Sitting in front of this stone table on a crude stone chair was a muscular man clothed in blue clothes with a white undershirt. This man was Xu Ying.


    Standing behind Prince Xu Ying was a naked man with a pudgy body. His skin looked saggy, as though it had been inside water for too long. He looked ugly compared to other humanoids Kael had seen.


    ''27,'' Isaiah thought to himself. 27 was a really powerful rat and the most trusted slave under Xu Ying. Isiah estimated that 27 should not be weaker than him.


    If Xu Ying could have someone as powerful as 27 as a slave, that was a testament to just how strong he was.


    Placed on the table in front of him was a wooden mug made of black wood. Inside this wooden mug was a reddish-purple liquid.


    The liquid brimmed with heat and Isaiah could not help but stare at it longer than usual.


    "Master, we did not bring enough Phoenix Blood Juice with us." 27 said to Xu Ying in the most respectful manner possible.


    Xu Ying didn''t react to his slave''s words, he picked up the mug and took a sip, relishing in the sweetened hot flavor of the blood of an ancient beast.


    When drank from the mug, his eyes met the approaching figure of Isaiah. He put the mug down and waited for Isaiah to stand in front of him.


    "Have you called all of them?" Xu Ying asked calmly. 27 glared at Isiah, unable to hide the disdain and malice within his beady eyes.


    "Yes, Prince Xu Ying," Isaiah nodded. Xu Ying had finally finished with his calculations and analysis after three months.


    It was time to make a big move on this world.

 Chapter 140 140: Red And Blue

    "Good," Xu Ying said before raising the jug to take another sip of the brimming red liquid.


    Now that Isaiah was closer, he could properly take a sniff without looking like a weirdo.


    The juice smelled like thick freshly spilled blood. The scent of iron was still prevalent. There was also the scent of sweetness as if a lot of sweet fruits had been crushed and mixed together with the blood.


    Isaiah gulped, suppressing his desire to take a sip. This was the type of life Xu Ying enjoyed every once in a while, Isaiah could only envy from a distance.


    If it wasn''t some special piece of flesh, it was a strange fruit that had a very sweet scent or the blood of a creature Isaiah couldn''t even begin to imagine.


    Xu Ying observed Isaiah''s reaction to the scent of the Phoenix Blood Juice he was taking. He let a small playful smirk form on his lips.


    Isaiah saw Xu Ying''s unhidden expression and immediately retracted his gaze. One thing he had learned about Xu Ying, one very crucial thing, was that he was a very intelligent person.


    He could see it in his eyes, those eyes that never seemed to settle on a particular color. Most days, they were black, other days, they alternated between red and blue, sometimes having both at the same time.


    The only other person he had seen with those eyes was N''bay¨¦, one of the lionesses under Kael.


    And Isaiah knew for a fact that this type of intelligence was extremely terrifying and dangerous.


    Sometimes he wondered if Xu Ying had already figured out his motive, if he had already understood what Isaiah truly wanted from them.


    It was possible, very likely too. It was possible Xu Ying already knew but was just too lazy to ask why, or he was gaining a twisted form of entertainment from all this.


    Realizations like this made Isaiah understand that just as he was planning to use them, he should also expect to be used.


    Isaiah and 27 stood in silence while Xu Ying occasionally took a sip of his exotic juice.


    Occasionally, they would see some large rats pass by with some load on their backs or looking around in patrol. The settlement was like a crude machine, extracting resources and preparing for what was to come.


    Soon, they heard the sound of multiple footsteps getting closer to Xu Ying''s Villa. The young lion masters were coming.


    The first person to arrive was Alora, the white-skinned, white-haired lady with an air of elegance mixed with coldness. Her beauty was undeniable, even for Isaiah.


    The way she walked, the way she carried her body, the way she straightened her shoulders, everything pointed to a background of opulence and power.


    Her strong blue eyes scanned her environment as if to catch those who dated not to bow. Yet at the same time, he carried an air of grace and calmness.


    Her chin was slightly upturned and her nostrils could almost be seen. She didn''t appear to be doing this intentionally, it was natural for her to act this way.


    As usual, she wore a white and blue dress, this time, she had a light blue fur scarf wrapped over her shoulders and interlocking with her arms. Her dress complimented her beauty well and did justice to her regal aura.


    Isaiah took in a deep breath as she stepped into the compound, his green eyes and her blue eyes locked, but he quickly looked away. It was a very bad idea to look these young lions in the eyes.


    Isaiah felt the temperature drop significantly and goosebumps appeared in his arms, still, he remained poised.


    Alora may not be the most accessible person, but she was the most mature and reasonable among the lots.


    Xu Ying and 27 didn''t seem to be bothered by the fall in temperature. 27 simply bowed while Xu Ying continued drinking his sweet hot juice. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as the temperature kept falling without warning, it shot up again as a human pillar of warmth made his way over.


    Adolf arrived quickly with hurried steps. His eyes were red, not the usual red irises, but red like the eyes of someone who was intoxicated.


    He was smiling, his grin stretching from ear to ear. "Hehehe¡­" As soon as he saw Xu Ying, he started chuckling like a clown, it was unclear what was funny.


    Isaiah sighed, Adolf was high again. He had been the one to provide those intoxicating herbs for Adolf according to how he wanted them. He had not even known those herbs could be used like that until Adolf demonstrated to him.


    He had watched with curiosity as Adolf cut the weeds into tiny bits, then rolled it all up in a small piece of paper to form a small paper-wrapped weed pole.


    With a snap of Adolf''s fingers, the end tiny pole was lit and he took a sharp drag of air from the other end.


    Isaiah was tempted to try it out, Adolf had even handed him the tiny pole and told him to take a drag. Under such encouragement, Isaiah ended up smoking the weed.


    Thankfully, Adolf had advised Isaiah that day to lock the doors of the villa they were staying in. If not, Isaiah might have been beaten to a stupor with how badly he was misbehaving.


    That was the first and last time he tried it, although once in a while, his mind would edge him into thinking about it.


    At least, the reason why Adolf was always so boisterous and loud could be justified. It was either he was severely intoxicated and high or he was suffering from withdrawal. It was always one of those two scenarios.


    Adolf walked over to the stone table, ignoring 27''s bow and looking straight at Xu Ying.


    "Xu Ying¡­" Adolf whispered with a foolish smile on his face. Xu Ying''s eyes stared into Adolf''s, instantly understanding what was going on, he could only sigh as he felt tired all of a sudden.


    "Xu Ying, can you hear me?" Adolf whispered again, he acted like he was about to reveal a secret.


    "*Sigh* Yes, I can hear you, Adolf," Xu Ying decided to play along.


    "Did your mother ever tell you that you were handsome?" Adolf asked, still whispering.


    Xu Ying frowned, unsure of where this troublesome lion was taking the discussion to. "Why''d you ask?"


    Adolf shook his head, his curly red hair being messy and unkempt, "Nothing, I was just curious. Hehehe¡­"


    "Curious about what?" Xu Ying asked with an eyebrow raised.


    "Hehehe, I was just curious if your mother was also a liar, hehehehehhe¡­." A sheepish grin appeared on Adolf''s face, as though he had achieved a glorious victory.


    *BAM!*


    Before Adolf could react, Xu Ying reached out, his hand moving at incredible speed. He grabbed Adolf by his orange-red curly hair and slammed his head into the stone table.


    The stone table was strong, only suffering a few cracks and sinking an inch into the ground. Adolf was even stronger, there was no sign of injuries in his head and he kept his stupid grin.


    Xu Ying sighed, realizing that no amount of beating would set Adolf straight. Sometimes he wondered why he allowed this lion to distract him.


    Despite the cracked stone table, the mug with red juice inside remained steady. Xu Ying resumed his drinking session with an unimpressed expression on his face.


    Alora simply glanced at all that happened with a nonchalant gaze. She was completely unconcerned with whatever was going on. Her closest friend was yet to arrive, she was the only one who could engage Alora in a good conversation.


    Soon, more lions in their humanoid forms began to appear, having finished whatever they were doing in their villa.


    The sound of powerful wings beating against the air reached their ears as Chloe descended from the sky with her black wings stretched out. She landed beside Alora who instantly wore a smile on her face.


    Thawne also arrived, his head raised high as usual. The others gave him funny looks but that was it. Conquerors did not bother themselves with such trivialities as long as their core culture was intact.


    All fourteen of the young lions and lionesses had arrived and stood in front of the sitting Xu Ying. 27 and Isaiah stood to the far side, their presence had to be limited in such meetings.


    "Prince Xu Ying, did something come up?" One of the youths said, he had long hair and four arms attached to his shoulders.


    "Yes," Xu Ying said before gulping up the last bits of phoenix juice inside his wooden mug. He tossed the mug away for 27 to catch it.


    After that was done, Xu Ying stood up from his seat but didn''t leave his position. He waved his arm, causing magic lights to surge from his body.


    Multiple holographic screens appeared in front of Xu Ying as his eyes started changing colors, with one blue and the other red.


    There was a faint glow beneath his clothes, barely noticeable unless someone stood very close.


    The magic holographic screens showed equations, calculations, and probability tables. There was also a rough map that seemed to have a lot of errors in it.


    "I''ve been able to locate the region the heaven beacon should be. Although I can''t pinpoint its exact location just yet.


    We would have to go out and look for it, the closer I get, the more I would be able to pinpoint its precise location."


    "So we are all going, now?" Thawne asked.


    Xu Ying shook his head as he swiped at the screens, "No, not now, but in the next few hours, we should be well prepared. And no, not all of us are going.


    I''m going to select some of you to visit that Kael guy and see what''s up with him."

 Chapter 141 141: Our Culture

    Isaiah''s mind churned when he heard Xu Ying''s words, was it finally time to have his revenge?


    "Kael? That local lion? Why should we meet him?" Thawne asked with a look of disdain on his face.


    Most of them did not see Kael as anything special, they hadn''t even seen him at all. All they knew about him was what Isaiah let them know.


    "Yeah, isn''t he a failure? Why should we check him out?" Chloe asked.


    On a normal day, they would have loved to go and meet Kael to properly teach him the ways of the lions. But there was something more important to attend to, finding the heaven beacon.


    With the heaven beacon, they could attempt to open a stable gateway between this world and their heaven. Every other thing could be attended to after that.


    If they succeeded, they wouldn''t have to worry about being banished from their clan and sent to establish their own clan which was very hard. Succeeding in this expedition would secure them as heirs to a title, and they would be receiving nothing less than the status of Prince or King''s consort.


    Of course, this did not concern Isaiah and he did not care at all. He balled his fist when he heard them talking about ignoring Kael, he was so close to getting what he wanted.


    "Remember, not all of us are going. Most will follow me to look for the heaven beacon, few will stay and follow Isaiah to meet with Kael.


    The reason I want you to do this is out of curiosity, the description I have of Kael seems¡­off.


    I have never heard of a lion with golden fur. Not to mention he seems to be a chimera, having access to multiple powers as Isaiah described." Xu Ying said as he kept on adjusting the data on his magic holographic screens.


    "Oh, I guess that calls for attention then," Thawne said, although the disdain did not disappear from his eyes.


    "Yes, I have already decided who will follow me and who will go to meet this Kael.


    Don''t worry, you will not be denied credit if you don''t follow me. It''s group work, you will be rewarded as long as we all succeed." Xu Ying said.


    His words were reassuring to the youths and they readjusted their state of mind.


    "Chloe, Baba, Wadolius, you will follow Isaiah to make contact with Kael. The rest of you will follow me." Xu Ying said.


    Isaiah took a deep breath, this was it, it was time. Kael would not know what hit him.


    Chloe frowned, not because she was afraid of going but because she would not be with Alora. She glanced at Alora to see the frown on her friend''s face.


    Both of them came from similar yet distinct backgrounds. Alora was the daughter of the king in her clan, she had come to this expedition to get a chance to become a Princess rather than some consort to her father or one of her brothers.


    Chloe on the other hand was the daughter of a Prince. Technically, she would either become the consort to another Prince or the consort to a Lion Lord.


    If this expedition went successfully, she would be able to become the consort of the King of her clan, or better still, become a Princess, although the last was very unlikely.


    They had been friends from the time they were little cubs, one black and one white. A friendship that was known by a lot of lions in heaven.


    Alora wanted to protest, if she spoke out, Xu Ying would understand and look for a replacement. But Chloe sent her a direct telepathic message, "Alora don''t worry, I''ve been meaning to explore this world anyways.


    I''ll use this as an excuse to look for some cool stuff for the both of us."


    Chloe''s words did not reassure Alora but the latter decided not to press on. None of them were babies, they had all been brought up in a society where might was the only right. Chloe should be able to handle herself.


    Isaiah looked at the three youths he would be accompanying. Chloe, a winged lioness with a taste for bird meat, he could salvage his relationship with her.


    The other two were also a bit familiar. One of them was the young man who had four arms with an earthy aura around him, he was Baba. The last person was the strange youth with blue skin and an aura of water, this was Wadolius.


    ''I can work with these three,'' Isaiah thought to himself.


    Xu Ying waved his hand, finalizing his calculations before the holographic screen faded away.


    "27, start making preparations and make sure the shuttle is ready and stocked in two hours.


    Arrange for twenty rats to follow Isaiah and the rest, no, make it 25, just in case.


    Chloe, you will be the leader of this group, is that clear." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yes Prince Xu Ying," Chloe answered. "What should we do when we make contact with Kael?" She asked.


    "Observe him, judge him, and estimate the level of his power. If he is not only powerful but also capable of understanding our culture, you are to help him understand the significance of the lion race.


    If possible, ally with him and discuss about him following us back to heaven when all this is over." Xu Ying said with a thoughtful expression.


    Chloe tilted her head, intrigued, "And what if he isn''t powerful, what if he can''t assimilate with our culture?" She asked.


    Xu Ying narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits. All the people close by felt the overbearing killing intent that came and went in a flash.


    "If that is so, kill him," Xu Ying stated simply.


    ########


    Meanwhile, more than a hundred kilometers away.


    The grand mountain stood with grandiose authority. Its silhouette casts a lonely but powerful shadow from afar.


    All the creatures who glanced upon this mountain had only one thought in their minds, ''The center of power,''


    These last three months had been like a dream for them, from the shocking amount of bloodshed to the strange set of rules and the unexplainable borders, it was hard to understand.


    Everything happened so fast, and it was still happening.


    At the very top of this mountain, on the flat surface it had as a peak, two figures sat in silence, watching the sunset while enjoying the evening breeze.


    It was calm, it was quiet, and it was hard to find such a spot in the entire forest. From this flat peak, anyone could see a large portion of the forest with a bird''s eye view.


    Everything up here was just so calm, so quiet, so lonely. The breeze added to the serenity of this place.


    It was like an abode for the gods, away from the fever fantasies and the insignificant turmoils of the mortals, a place to sit down, reflect, meditate, and think.


    Yes, a place to think, such a place was just too rare in the wild savage lands. The most common thought was about the next meal, few had the time to think of something else.


    As the breeze blew, the hairs of the two figures moved slightly in the wind''s direction.


    The two figures sitting cross-legged on the smoothened ground of the flat peak were both human in shape.


    One was a man, buff and muscular in stature. His inhale and exhale caused his shoulders and chest to expand and contract, following a certain rhythm.


    The man had his eyes closed, but this did not diminish the appeal that his face brought to the world. His smooth face free of blemishes was softly caressed by the wind, like a grandmother holding her grandchild.


    He had dark golden beards on his face to add to his already handsome visage. The beard was well trimmed, covering the lower sides of his cheeks, his chin, and finishing under his nose.


    Behind him, a tail that was attached to his waist casually swept from left to right. Although he sat naked, there was no sense of shame or loss of dignity, there was no difference between him and a clothed person.


    And this was the same for the person sitting next to him too. Sitting so close to him, the difference in size was very apparent.


    This was a feminine figure, her eyes were closed just like the golden-haired man. From her face alone, one might assume she was in her late forties to mid-fifties.


    This aged face did not reduce her aesthetic appeal but somehow increased it. Although there were a bit of wrinkles under her eyes and two deep lines beside her nose, the fact remained that she was very beautiful, the kind of woman whose beauty remained from her younger years, like aged wine.


    Her hair which was of a dark grey color was tied into a bun with a small vine string. As the wind caressed the both of them in its warm embrace under the evening glow, their auras seemed to be intertwined.


    Once the sun finally disappeared over the horizon and darkness completely took over, the woman opened her eyes to reveal a pair of striking dark grey eyes.


    "Kael, we''ve made more improvements today, thank you." She said with a wave of subtle telepathic power.


    Suddenly, the muscular man who was Kael, also opened his eyes to show a pair of beautiful golden irises.


    "Your powers are my powers, your growth is my growth. Priya, there''s no need to thank me."

 Chapter 142 142: The Issue Of Perspective

    "So," Kael said, "Do you feel improvements with every meditation session? I can feel subtle changes but I can''t understand them very well."


    Priya turned her head to look at Kael''s face with unhidden admiration, from the corner of her eye, she could see the rising moon with its dim light casting a glow over the forest.


    "No, but every meditation brings me closer to a state of mind that I can''t explain. No matter how much I try to explain it in words, it''s just not sufficient unless you experience it yourself." She said.


    "Hmm," Kael looked down. The two sat near the edge so he was able to see the area surrounding the lower part of the mountain.


    "Sometimes, I wonder if what I experience can be transferred, so that it can be understood by everybody," Priya said.


    "What exactly do you always meditate on? Is it your powers? Your mind? Or something else?" Kael asked.


    He had merely been sitting down cross-legged while emptying his mind of all thoughts, it was the most basic form of meditation. Priya''s meditation however was purposeful, it had a direction and was forming a clear path to enlightenment.


    Priya shook her head, "I meditate on as many things I can get my mind on, but I focus more on the topic of perspective."


    "Perspective?" Kael asked, "Is it the reason your powers have developed in this direction?"


    "It is," Priya answered.


    "Explain it to me," Kael said.


    Priya went silent, not because she did not want to say anything, but because she found it hard to start a sentence. She didn''t know where to begin if she wanted to explain to Kael what was in her mind.


    "Perspective¡­" She began, glancing at the trees and the corridors of darkness below the green canopies, "It''s quite complicated, where do I start?"


    "You can start from the basics, the very foundation of your path to enlightenment," Kael said, eager to understand her view. She had been meditating for so long that it had become a habit, he really wanted to open up her head and see what was inside, especially with the fact that he had completely lost all ability to read Priya''s mind.


    "The basics? The foundation for my path to enlightenment?


    Kael, I AM the basics, my perspective is the very foundation on which my thoughts are built on¡­" Priya said as a glitter of revelation flashed through her eyes.


    She continued, "I started my meditations with a confused mind.


    I was confused, bewildered, and occasionally surprised at how different I was from everyone else.


    Nobody thought about it, at least not to the extreme I had taken it.


    It is so normal for everyone to go about their day, not caring about what others feel. You could wake up in the morning, freshen up, eat, work, consummate, play, laugh, and sleep, and not once would you try to look at the world from another person''s perspective.


    It''s natural ignorance, not because we want to be ignorant of others and others want to be ignorant of us, it''s because we never had the ability to.


    How were we, mortal creatures shackled by our cursed bodies, supposed to look at the world through the eyes of another?


    This realization came subtle, it caused me to see everything and everyone going about their activity as mundane, but it was just the beginning.


    I meditated so that I could imagine the life of another. But imagination is never enough, never. Just for a moment, I wanted to take a look at the world from another angle and live life from another body.


    With every level of mindfulness I achieved, the closer I got to what I wanted. I wasn''t motivated by greed, neither was it power, I was simply curious." Priya paused again, turning her head to look at Kael to see if he was paying attention.


    This was an instinctive thing, even though she knew no one could ignore a telepathic message unless they were unconscious.


    Kael turned his head to look at her, "You succeeded, that is why you evolved into a tier 3 spirit lioness.


    I never truly asked, what has it been like after your evolution?"


    Priya sighed heavily, as though she was reminded of the heavy burden she was carrying.


    "Ever since the evolution, it''s been different¡­everything has been different. My perspective has changed. For better or worse, I do not know.


    A simple surge of my power and I am now able to take over the mind of the nearest vulnerable soul. It feels so surreal, yet so normal.


    Their thoughts become my thoughts, their fears become my fears, their hunger becomes my hunger, and their memories become my memories.


    Only then do I fully understand the insignificance of perspective in the grand weave of reality. It is merely a platform to observe¡­" S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Priya spoke, faint grey power surges slowly erupted from her body, a manifestation of her emotions. Kael remained still, listening to her and ignoring whatever side effects this power surge could cause.


    "No," Priya frowned and began shaking her head, "I am not explaining it well to you, you don''t understand, you wouldn''t understand!


    If you cannot see the world through the eyes of others, how would you understand what I''m saying?


    To be a predator but observe with the eyes of a prey. Kael, imagine what it is like to be a rat, or a deer, or a snake, or something that isn''t a lion.


    You can imagine it, yes, but can you understand it? No! ARGH!" Priya grabbed the sides of her head, feeling a headache coming up.


    Even then, Kael remained calm, he still wanted to milk Priya of all she could muster.


    "It feels so great to be connected to everything and everyone at the same time, I can see the world from different angles at once.


    I, a lioness, knows the troubles of a measly rat. I know the sympathy of the deers that watched us eat their young, I know the worries of the birds who fear to land, afraid that we will catch them.


    All these emotions, they are too much!" Priya said those words, her grey eyes glowed and tears began to flow from her eyes.


    These weren''t the tears that fell from uncontrollable power. Priya was genuinely crying, her emotions were all over the place.


    Her power surge expanded further, covering the whole flat mountain peak. It seemed incredulous that the simple act of talking about how she felt could cause Priya to act this way.


    This was just her nature, a blessing and a curse. As a spirit lioness, her emotions were strong and she had a level of empathy unrivaled by any other lionheart.


    Just when it seemed like Priya was about to break down, Kael reached out to hold the woman in his strong embrace. He held her in a warm hug, her body pressed against his and her head resting on his chest. The sound of his heartbeat seemed to calm her down.


    Kael looked down, feeling the stream of warm tears flowing from Priya''s eyes down his chest.


    He thought about Priya''s words with a calm expression. He felt like he could also understand Priya, but he denied himself that opportunity.


    Anything that would cause him to be a slave to his emotions was a deal breaker. It would be better if Priya was the empathetic one in the pride.


    From his previous life, he could draw some illustrations to better map out what Priya was trying to say.


    There were poor and rich people, this was a universal fact on earth. No matter how inequality had been villainized, it didn''t go away, instead, it became more prevalent.


    The poor people, those who drowned in poverty, those who couldn''t afford a home or had to join forces to rent a space. These people were in the majority, and sometimes they would fantasize about being among the rich.


    This was similar to the perspective Priya spoke of. A lot of people could imagine themselves being wealthy but unless they actually became rich, it would remain an imagination. They would never understand the life of affluence until they experienced it for themselves.


    It was like how some poor people hated most rich people for their arrogance and their selfishness. They didn''t understand that if they themselves were to become rich, they would probably become just like the rich people they hated.


    And it was the same for the side of the wealthy. Rich people could say that they sympathize with the poor all they want, and drum it down the ears of the media.


    But they would never understand what it''s like to not be able to afford three square meals, school fees, bill payments, and peace of mind.


    This was one of the reasons why poor people sometimes wished for the rich to lose their wealth and become poor. If only they could lose their fortune, would they understand what it''s like to be in their shoes?


    Of course, not all poor and rich people were like that but they accounted for the majority, the middle class was a little bit of both.


    Was it possible to be rich, middle-class, and poor at the same time? No, it wasn''t. You were either one of the three, or you were dead.


    And there was nothing anyone could do about it except imagine.


    That is the Law.


    Kael sighed, caressing Priya''s hair while thinking to himself, ''I didn''t care about the perspective of that wolf clan before wiping them out.''

 Chapter 143 143: Lion System New Features

    Kael thought deeply about it, all those animals who had watched him slaughter their friends and family. He had been ruthless and swiftly brutal.


    Yet even though he tried to imagine it, he still felt detached. Experience was the best teacher, this had to be taken to a deeper level.


    As Priya rested her head on Kael''s chest and flat his arms around her, she absent-mindedly rested her hand on his exposed cock.


    She softly caressed it, thinking about something else. Kael too didn''t react much, like this wasn''t the first time, he had a mind filled with thoughts.


    Many things had happened in the last three months, some of them had occurred beyond his control, while some had gone according to plan.


    Two of those events were the arrival of the lions as well as the attack on one of the remaining two wolf clans.


    More than three months ago, Kael had motivated lions from the plains beyond the forest to journey all the way here, unaware of what Kael had planned for them.


    More than two months ago, they finally arrived at the edge of the forest, causing the Primordial law of Conquering to react and bestow them their rewards.


    Naturally, with their arrival and after receiving their reward points, the lions and lioness had no reason to hang around the edge of the forest anymore.


    The sudden presence of close to sixty lions and lionesses caused a lot of disturbance. A few of these lions had already evolved into tier 2.


    They either had the option to leave the forest and go back to their former territories, or stay and make the best use of this place. Their choice was obvious as their former territories were far and it would be exhausting to start going back immediately after they arrived.


    Not to mention that the forest seemed to have an abundance of prey for some reason. Although they weren''t used to chasing after their food while dodging trees, they got used to it quickly.


    Soon, a small section of the forest''s edge was absent of all life except that of lions. This wasn''t enough though, the lions were still divided into multiple prides and these prides had decided to start moving into the forests in search of more prey and a better territory to claim as their own.


    Many creatures who were powerful enough to escape from the lion prides easily recognized that these creatures were of the same race as King Kael.


    Meanwhile, Kael, the instigator of the sudden disturbance, was delighted.


    He had set to work immediately, there was no time to waste. He instantly began working on the Lion System, making adjustments and creating a new task.


    It took him a whole day with the help of Commander Bibi''s knowledge to finish the update he was doing. He had added many elements from his previous life into it, he intended to make the lion system automated itself and be self-sufficient.


    It was kind of stressful for him alone to be the only one doing all the work after all.


    When he was done, he uploaded, feeling like a game developer, and was awaiting the reviews of the players.


    With the sounds of dings going off in their minds, the lions and lionesses received the update to their lion systems.


    The standard referral task was still there with a reward of 2 points for each lion that successfully added his or her identity marks to the lion system.


    Since they had completed the task of coming to the forest by following the river, the task bar had disappeared and in its place was a new task.


    [Task: Destroy The Azale Wolf Clan.


    Description: The great King Kael has deemed the Azale Wolf Clan a direct threat to not just the kingdom, but the lion race itself.


    Surely, the only fate awaiting such an entity is annihilation¡­


    Reward:


    Kill a wolf, 1 point


    Subjugate a wolf, 2 points¡­


    New Update Features: Vassal Record, Map, Exchange Center, Title, Privileges¡­]


    The quest was detailed and it carried multiple attachments that were also part of the new update.


    The Vassal Record was what Kael had named the Primordial Record that he used for the other animals that weren''t lions.


    Ever since he realized that there were more complexities surrounding the word ''primordial'' his OCD didn''t allow him to use it in peace. He had to give the Primordial record another name. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After contemplating and realizing that his power came from the Law of Conquering, he decided to name it the Vassal Record.


    By integrating it into the Lion System, he was giving the lions the power to subjugate and add other creatures into the Vassal Record.


    This way, Kael would be able to have more subordinates at a faster rate especially since the lions literally lived to dominate others.


    Although, for now, all the wolves and other animals to be subjugated would automatically be under Kael. Only after the latest task was completed would Kael allow the lions to keep their own personal vassal and vassal groups.


    For now, the lions were to use the Vassal Record to collect the identity marks of subjugated wolves.


    Another attachment he had added was the Map. Kael had been very intentional when working on this update, he had taken many things into account.


    It was safe to assume that the lions had never been to the forest before, if so how were they supposed to find the Azale wolf clan?


    With this in mind, Kael added the map. This map was very basic and rough, most of the locations it had were collected from the many observation magic stones N''bay¨¦ had placed all over the region.


    The map only has detailed locations for a small part of the forest. Kael had made it so that moving around would cause the map to automatically collect data and constantly update itself.


    For this new quest, Kael had collected the location of the Azale Wolf Clan and added it to the map.


    Of course, Kael was also cautious not to make the natural abilities of the lions irrelevant. Their sense of smell and direction were crucial to them and adding a map could cause those things to lose value and significance over time.


    Because of that, Kael made the map very big and made it appear like a holographic screen in front of them, something that could be seen by everyone and not just the individual.


    The map wasn''t a permanent trait that would stay in a corner of their vision, it had to appear and disappear on command. And when it appeared, it could block their senses like their sight and sense of smell, which was very uncomfortable.


    He made the map something that would be appreciated but not heavily depended on.


    The addition of the Map and Vassal Record features excited the lions but not as much as the other features, the exchange center, and the titles.


    The exchange center, did just as it was named. It was a tab that allowed the lions and lionesses to exchange what they had for what they wanted.


    Kael made it very easy to use and anything could be exchanged, anything, as long as it wasn''t a living creature.


    The whole lion system was tied to Kael, he could feel the burden on his being when he was testing out the new update and tried to exchange a live rabbit for some points.


    For now, he was too weak to support that kind of feature. Apart from that, the exchange center was a very good idea for him to create a small economy of his own.


    He divided the exchange center into two parts, the public exchange and the private exchange.


    The public exchange was where lions could put their items up for sale or make a public request for a certain item, either action would be seen by everyone who had an identity mark in the lion system.


    The private exchange was meant for discreet transactions that lions didn''t want others to know about. Kael was considerate enough to allow them their privacies¡­in theory.


    As the master of the Lion System, nothing was hidden from him, even the private exchanges. It was just a matter of whether he was interested in interfering or not.


    For the private exchange to work, some lions would have to send a private request to chosen identity marks. It was up to the other party to buy or sell.


    A lot of physical networking and relationships would be needed for this to work.


    Kael had intended to add a chat feature but he had not yet finished working on it. Creating a chat feature was much harder than he thought it would be, he estimated that it would take him some significant amount of time before he completed it. The lions would have to settle for the crude method until he was done.


    The last feature he added was the Title feature, the most exciting feature of them all.


    Kael had created the title, Pride Leader, which would automatically be given to a lion by the lion system if it observed a change in status.


    How does the lion system observe this change? Even Kael did not know. It was like writing code and hoping for it to work, and then it actually works.


    The Pride Leader title came with a single perk that was going to change a lot of things and help Kael gain control over the lion race.


    As a Pride Leader, any individual lion who possessed this title would also possess the unique ability that Kael had created, Dominion Roa

 Chapter 144 144: Dominion Roar

    That Kael created the Dominion Roar ability was a stretch, it was better to say that he copied it from one of his own personal abilities.


    Back when he was fighting Darius while he was in his Conqueror Mode, he had released a very special roar with some very interesting effects.


    All these updates and new features required energy to sustain, but not too much and Kael was already working on a perk that would allow him to absorb some sort of power from the lions who had their identity marks in the lion system.


    But this feature has to be refined very well before he implements it.


    With all these new features to play with, the lions who had come to the forest were not so willing to leave anymore. Now, they had a new task, something to keep themselves busy with.


    As soon as they were familiar with the new features of the Lion System, they set out in the direction of the Azale Wolf Clan.


    Creatures large and small had to run for their lives as lions and lionesses rushed through the forest, weaving through trees and leaving behind deep paw prints in the ground.


    The rainy season had coincidentally arrived, making the forest ground wet and muddy but also making the trees more vibrant.


    Luckily, the rain in the forest had exitways in the form of rivers so there was never a problem of water pooling up and causing floods or turning an area into a swamp.


    As the lions and lionesses ran through the forest, they caused a lot of disturbance. If not that the trees were very thick, they would have directly knocked them down.


    The Azale wolf clan had still been a large distance away so it took them time to arrive. With five pride leaders leading them, their journey was filled with roars of excitement. Even before they reached the territory of the Azale Wolf Clan, many animals had fallen to the paws in the way.


    Meanwhile, the arrival of the lions caused a certain faction to nearly go into panic mode.


    The spiders, particularly the Darktale Web Handlers group. Natalia, leader of this web handler group, had not been able to sleep well ever since the lions arrived.


    It wasn''t because she was scared of them at all, their overall power was nothing compared to that of the spiders.


    What got her so anxious was the fact that Kael was responsible for this. There was no other way to look at it.


    From the recordings her spiders had brought to her, the lions seemed to be so disorganized yet very focused at the same time.


    One moment they were hanging around, scratching trees or laying under the shade after eating, the next moment they all got up and began heading in one direction.


    In the recordings, some lions had created some sort of mysterious golden screen or map in front of their face. She recognized that golden color very well, who else had that golden mysterious glow in the whole forest if not for Kael?


    Natalia realized that Kael had been planning something ferociously without her being able to know about it. She had always assumed she would be one step ahead of Kael and his kingdom with the help of the vast network of spiders, instead, she was proved wrong.


    ''How did he do it? How did he communicate with them despite the large distance? What are they looking for?'' She had asked herself all these questions back then.


    By this time, the first month had already concluded and the lions were halfway to their enemy''s destination. Natalia made sure to keep track of their movements so that she could determine where they were going. She had some guesses but she was not willing to believe it, Kael should not be that bold.


    As if Kael was intentionally trying to keep her on her ''toes'', there were suddenly massive movements from the mountain area.


    This was a surprise, ever since Kael had killed Darius and taken over the mountain, not much activity had been going on.


    The last time she sent one of her spiders to deliver the information Kael had asked for, there was nothing of interest apart from the fact that the wolves seemed a bit too excited.


    From her spies, she got images of Commander Bibi and Diane leading fifty-plus wolves in the same direction the lions were going.


    The most interesting thing about this was that Commander Bibi and Diane, who had both disappeared for the last one month, suddenly appeared with the power level of a tier 3 lion and wolf respectively.


    This was not just a surprise, this was a threat. How many high-level creatures did Kael now have under his command?


    She was already wary of Kael after learning that he was able to kill the tier 4 tiger, Darius. Now there were more high-level beings under his command.


    And besides Commander Bibi and Diane who now had strikingly large bodies, there were also twenty tier 2 wolves following them.


    Natalia knew that this wasn''t the full force that Kael had at his disposal. Now, she was very worried, she was starting to regret ever coming in contact with Kael.


    The more she thought about it, the more the probability of Kael planning something against her was likely. It was impossible to say that Kael, as ambitious as he was, did not cover the power of the spiders.


    ''Should I offer allegiance?'' She had asked herself. However, she steeled her mind and got ready for anything. No matter what, Kael was not stronger than the entire spider race.


    Now she knew exactly where the lions and wolves were heading to, the Azale wolf clan. There was no need to guess, that was exactly where Kael was aiming for.


    Natalia wanted to intervene, she wanted to warn the Azale wolf clan. They were the strongest wolf clan but that was just because they had more numbers. In terms of quality fighters, Kael was ahead.


    Unfortunately, the spiders and wolves of the Azale clan were enemies. Still, Natalia was sure that the Azale clan wouldn''t go down, maybe they might get injured but she didn''t see any side losing or winning.


    That was what she thought until the lions finally reached the territory of the Azale Wolf Clan.


    The events of that day still surprised her, even now, it was so unexpected.


    It had started with hostile barks and aggressive howls. Wolves rushed the lions with claws and sharp teeth out in the open.


    There were more than two hundred wolves with two tier 3 wolves as leader and deputy leader.


    The wolves outnumbered and outmatched the lions, yet the lions didn''t back down. Five lions had stepped forward, their muscles rippling with the mighty power of their lionhearts.


    They were the Pride Leaders and currently the only lions to officially possess that title in the lion system. It was that time they decided to show these lesser beings the power of the lions.


    The first Pride Leader roared, activating his Dominion Roar ability. It sounded like an unusually loud roar, very effective in the ears.


    The true effect of the roar came immediately after those thoughts. Suddenly, all the lionesses in that particular lion''s pride received a 5% boost to their strength.


    However, because they had not yet awakened their lionhearts, the rat only affected their physical traits.


    That wasn''t the only effect though. The Pride Leader who had roared felt his body receive a 10% boost. The muscles in his limbs bulged and his fiery red mane lit up brightly. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The increase in strength made him have a nagging desire to bite something, to sink his hot fangs into some flesh.


    If those two effects were the only effects, it would have been more manageable for the wolves.


    But all the wolves who were close by felt a 10% decrease in their overall power upon hearing the roar. The wolves had to move their limbs multiple times to be sure that their bodies were still their own.


    What kind of sorcery was this? They were flabbergasted, shocked, confused. Were lions always capable of this?


    Just when the first roar faded away into the stunning silence, four other roars sounded out.


    The effects were the same, all the lionesses in each pride had a 5% power boost and the pride leaders received a 10% increase.


    Although the last effect couldn''t be stacked, the multiple roars as enough to affect as many wolves as possible.


    This made it so that out of the two hundred-plus wolves, one hundred and fifty of them had their strengths reduced by a whopping 10%.


    Still, as the battle began and the wolves and lions tore into each other, it became clear that the effects of the Dominion Roar would not be enough.


    The wolves still had the numbers advantage and two tier 3 wolves who had not yet made a move. There were at least four wolves fighting a single lion or lioness, it wouldn''t be long before the lions perished.


    Death should have been the fate of these lions for daring to attack the Azale wolf clan. Luckily, Kael was not so heartless to send his kin on this mission without some form of assistance.

 Chapter 145 145: Connected Caves

    The fight had barely begun when unknown howls came from the distance, the Azale wolf clan watched as fifty-plus wolves rushed out of the cover of the trees.


    Twenty tier 2 wolves were among them, a surprising number for any group in the forest. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The Azale wolves quickly realized that something was wrong, not only had these foreign lions come to attack them, but another group of wolves was also coming at them.


    "Isn''t that Bibi IV?" Mr Azale, one of the tier 3 wolves, wondered as he saw a familiar wolf running toward him. This wolf looked just like the son of an acquaintance, Bibi III, except he was bigger and looked stronger.


    And there was also an equally large and muscular lioness running with these wolves.


    The sudden arrival of Commander Bibi and Diane left the Azale wolves in shock that they had difficulty fighting back.


    Each of Kael''s forces had at least two enemies to fight yet it didn''t seem like a disadvantage at all. Commander Bibi and his wolves were unusually excited to be killing their fellow wolves and it really affected the morale of the Azale wolves.


    The lions themselves were equally confused but seeing Diane, a fellow kinsman, they felt at ease. Although more allies meant fewer rewards to go around, this wasn''t exactly a good thing for them.


    Diane and Commander Bibi had directly rushed the two tier 3 wolves of the Azale Wolf Clan, engaging them in a fierce battle.


    One War Wolf, one War Lion.


    Kael didn''t know too many details about how exactly the fight had gone down, but he was very aware of the results.


    Commander Bibi and Diane had returned the next day holding two bloody tier 3 wolf hearts in their human hands. The bodies had been too troublesome to carry around so they had the wolves eat them.


    There were also other gains, just as there were casualties. Fifteen ordinary wolves from Kael''s side died while 2 tier 2 wolves lost their lives.


    On the lion''s side, their casualties were a bit more surprising. Despite their reckless mode of fighting, they only lost six lionesses.


    In terms of combat ability and combat awareness, the lions were very superior. Not to mention that each Pride Leader was a unit on his own that was stronger than most tier 2 wolves.


    Besides the casualties, Commander Bibi and Diane managed to bring back one hundred and ten subjugated wolves.


    This was a joint effort between the lions and Commander Bibi''s wolves. This was also the main reason Kael sent Diane and Commander Bibi to help the lions, their main job was to escort the subjugated wolves back.


    The other wolves who had not been subjugated had either died or ran away. In just one day, the biggest Wolf Clan in the forest was destroyed.


    The wolf warriors had some issues Integrating with the ex-Azale wolves but it was sorted out by Commander Bibi.


    Unfortunately, the five lion Pride Leaders refused to follow Diane back to meet Kael, they preferred to stay on their own. Kael had no problem with this, he still wanted them to go around the world and add as many lions as possible to the Lion System.


    So now, the forest currently has five lion prides roaming around. Kael wasn''t worried about them establishing hair territories in the forest or anywhere near him, even if they did, he would just chase them away.


    *KINCH!*


    A sharp sound reached Kael and Priya''s ears from the bottom of the mountain, breaking their train of thought.


    Kael sighed, feeling Priya''s sensual body leaning into his. Although she had the face of a woman in her early fifties or late forties, her body was quite fantastic.


    Slim waist, flat tummy, nice butt, and well-rounded boobs. They were just at the right places, Priya looks like those women who never stopped working out even after growing older.


    However, most of the factors that contributed to this physique were her diet and lion genes. Eating raw meat and being a lioness was crucial to have the type of body she had.


    "Let''s go check on them," Kael said as he stood up, Priya stood up almost immediately, perfectly mirroring his movements.


    As they walked away from the mountaintop''s edge, Priya reached out to hold Kael''s hand. She wrapped her fingers, which were quite small compared to his, around his palm.


    Kael glanced at her, when Priya squeezed his hand to hold him well, he didn''t squeeze back, he just left this arm there for her to hold.


    Of all his lionesses, Priya was the one who mostly cared about things like this, romantic actions and whatnot. She didn''t even fully understand what romance was, but she knew how it worked.


    Anytime she was with Kael or she just finished a session of meditation with him, she would always like to be embraced by him or hold his hands.


    By now, she and Kael had already had sex multiple times. The second day after she had completed her manual evolution, she had Kael engaged in the act, both in their humanoid forms and the true lion form.


    She had to admit, intercourse while in this humanoid body had a certain uniqueness to it. Although it wasn''t exactly better than doing it in lion form, it was still unique.


    But even with all the intercourse and different levels of intimacy she and Kael had shared, she still valued these times when she could just hold his hand or sink into a warm hug or kiss his forehead.


    As they walked down the mountain, following the broken spiral path that Kael and Darius had formed when fighting, he and Priya looked into the horizon.


    Kael could sense that something was about to happen, he didn''t know why he felt like this but he just felt it. It was as if something was calling him from somewhere.


    Anytime he tried to follow his vague call, he would feel lost. This had never happened before, he was always pushing himself to be logical and he tended to know when he was being manipulated.


    Whatever was about to happen, he had to be prepared for it, no matter what.


    "Skybaud, are you there?" Kael sent out a telepathic call that spread far beyond the mountain.


    Ever since Priya had successfully evolved, his spirit powers had increased by many folds. Having a wife telepathic range was the least he could do at this point.


    There was no answer to Kael''s call, the person he had called was not nearby. He could only continue his descent down the mountain.


    After some time, the duo made it to the middle part of the mountain. Here, there were some caves and Kael went straight for the biggest one.


    He looked into the cave but didn''t see anyone.


    "Katari is not here, maybe she''s out," Priya said as she scanned the premises with her spirit sense. This was Katari''s personal cave, if she was to be anywhere, she would be here.


    Kael had decided to give all his lionesses their own personal cave after he had scouted the mountain.


    Some caves had already been there while he had to forcefully break into the mountain to create new ones.


    He did this with the upcoming possibility of him becoming a father in mind.


    Now, each lioness had their own personal cave, while Kael had his own cave at the top of the mountain, just below the mountain top.


    Each cave had a corridor at its depths that led all the way to Kael''s cave. So even though they were separated, they were still connected in a way.


    Most times, it was the lionesses who used the corridors to come to Kael for some fun activities, especially Olivia.


    Apart from the main corridors, there were also small tunnels that led to different caves in the lower mountain sector. Kael had put a lot of effort into making sure that each cave was connected to another cave or more.


    The only caves that were the exception to this were the prisoner caves that were used to hold captives.


    Kael and Priya continued on the walkway, heading to the next cave that was not far from Katari''s.


    *KINCH!*


    There was that sound again, the sound of metal striking against metal.


    Kael and Priya walked to the cave entrance with Priya''s arm wrapped around Kael''s, looking like an ordinary loving couple, except that they were naked.


    "Zabita?" Priya called out to her daughter. This cave, this place that caused her hair to stand straight, was Zabita''s cave.


    The sound of metal hitting metal stopped for a moment as the two walked into the cave.


    Kael''s eyes gazed upon a magnificent scene, one that he had seen before but the element of surprise never really diminished.


    In front of him, innumerable pieces of metal hovered above the ground. Most of these pieces of metal were small, no less than the size of a pinky. These pieces didn''t have a definite form and looked like they had just been roughly refined from their ore states.


    There were also some metal spikes, bones, and scales of unknown creatures floating in this pile of metal.


    The countless pieces of metal formed a rotating ring around the black-haired young woman sitting in the middle of the cave.

 Chapter 146 146: Metal Users

    Kael and Priya walked deep into the cave, walking for around five meters before stopping at the center. This was a really big cave and would be considered luxurious to most solitary creatures.


    In front of the two, a young woman sat cross-legged on the boulder in the center of the cave.


    A ring of different pieces of metal hovered above the ground in a shockingly balanced and unwavering manner, rotating around her like the rings around Saturn.


    Standing close to her, Kale felt a slight pressure, a small pull on his golden fingernails and teeth. Of course, it was barely noticeable if not that he was already very sensitive to it.


    Kael could see that on the walls of the cave, there were metal bones lodged into the stone walls. The inlaid metals were present all the way to the ceiling, with some metal bones jutting out with sharp tips directly about Kael.


    The woman with the controlled magnetic field around her and the multiple pieces of floating metal rotating around her was none other than Zabita.


    "Zabita¡­" Priya called, her telepathic voice sounding like a whisper, as though she was reluctant to interrupt her daughter''s meditation.


    The young woman, who looked like a human in her early twenties, opened her eyes.


    Her eyes were dark yellow, with wide but small black pupils in the center. The skin around her eyes, her eyelids and below, had a dark color.


    It was like she had put on black eyeshadow makeup, giving her a dark and mysterious look. The eye black makeup made some serious contrast with her dark yellow eyes, making her gaze look more intense than usual.


    Yet, her eyelids only opened halfway, not moving up by a single millimeter anymore. She gazed lazily at the two figures standing in front of her, the rotating pieces of metal became unstable for a moment before returning to their serene state.


    "Kael, mother, good day," Zabita said, her lips stretched into a beautiful smile. Zabita''s aesthetic really amused Kael.


    Apart from the eye shadow, Zabita also wore black lipstick and her left nostril had a small shiny piercing.


    Added to her unnaturally pale skin tone, she looked very similar to those emo people with dark goth aesthetics from Earth. All that remained was for her to put on some dark clothing and fishnet leggings and she would look the part.


    "I see you''re using these materials very well," Kael said as he reached out slowly to touch the slowly rotating pieces of metal. His fingertip brushed on one of the moving pieces that was the size of a finger.


    "Yes, the moles did a great job. I''ve told them to leave some metallic materials for me but they spoke of N''bay¨¦," Zabita said.


    Kael nodded, "Yes, N''bay¨¦ needs those specific metals for her experiments. But once she has picked the one she needs, you could take the rest." He said casually.


    He used his thumb and index finger to gently pick out one of the moving pieces of metal. He felt some resistance as the magnetic field was strong, he still pulled it out easily though.


    He brought the metal to his face, his golden eyes casting a dim glow on its rough body. The metal was coarse, looking like it had been poorly refined and it still had some impurities within it.


    This could not be helped, Kael didn''t have access to any advanced smelting and refining machine.


    The moles who were responsible for mining could only do so much and that was still with the help of N''bay¨¦ and Eidel.


    Around the same time that the attack on the Azale Wolf Clan had been completed, Kael was processing the information he got from Natalia.


    He had previously asked for information concerning the extraction of The Powder, a substance that could help momentarily boost the chances of evolution upon consumption.


    He had also asked for the whereabouts of the nearest mole communities.


    For the first, Natalia had been unnecessarily generous. Not only did she give him multiple methods used to extract it from the environment, but she also gave him a method that could be used to store and quantify it.


    Although Kael had intended to use The Powder as a form of currency, the problem remained that it was made in a state akin to crystallized powder.


    It would be hard to think of animals trying to measure the value of a certain amount of powder whenever they wanted to trade.


    Natalia had taken the time to do the thinking for him, or maybe she just had others do it for her. Along with the web ball filled with information, she also sent three small white cubes. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If The Powder was like sugar, then these cubes would be considered sugar cubes, in appearance.


    Looking at these powder cubes, Kael truly appreciated Natalia for this. Now that he knew how to use and quantify the powder, all that remained was to extract it.


    In the meantime, he looked into the information about the Moles, a race of subterranean rat-like creatures that were adept at mining and finding valuable mineral resources.


    A week after the Azale raid, he ordered Nalii to handle the annexation of the moles.


    Kael was thinking of taking a softer approach. The moles were not like wolves who were innately aggressive and needed to be handled with violence.


    From one of the two tier 3 hearts that was obtained from the Azale raid, Kael allowed Nalii to take one with her.


    Nalii also left with twenty wolves, all of them were tier 2. After the Azale wolves had been integrated, there was now a sudden increase of tier 2 wolves, increasing the Kingdom''s overall strength.


    The wolves were to follow Nalii just in case the moles decided to be uncooperative.


    Nalii and her wolf guards walked for the whole morning and reached the location when the afternoon sun was directly above their heads.


    Countless tunnels stretched for hundreds of meters under the ground, Nalii could feel them clearly.


    She could feel the broken roots and how they wound around the connected tunnels.


    Nalii had described how the moles scurried out of their burrows, their fur stuffed with dust and their pink noses raised to the air.


    She described how their leader reacted to her arrival, calm and collected, his elderly eyes filled with wisdom.


    Most of the moles had the power of earth or metal at first glance but there were also some with the power of fire in their ranks.


    Just as Kael had hoped, their leader caved in after seeing the heart of the tier 3 wolf.


    Although moles usually fed on insects, when push came to shove, they would eat something else, especially if it could increase their chances of evolution.


    Ever since that day, Kael and his kingdom had access to one of the best miners in the whole forest.


    For now, most of the precious minerals that were found were simply kept somewhere safe as they didn''t have any practical use for it yet.


    Most of the animals used their claws or teeth to fight so there was no use in forging weapons.


    N''bay¨¦ would sometimes help out in refining the metal from the ores, though they didn''t know exactly what type of metal they were dealing with. They just refined whatever they got and N''bay¨¦ would take anyone that seemed special to experiment with it.


    Madam Vixy also saw a demand for these metals. There were a lot of evolved creatures in the forest who had the power of metal flowing through them.


    Before, most of them had to be just like Kael or Zabita, reinforcing their bones, claws, and teeth before they could use their abilities effectively.


    The porcupine that Kael had fought some months ago had employed the same technique. He had reinforced his quills with metallic properties and used them like projectiles.


    Sometimes, the only way to get metal was by killing creatures with the mental ability and extracting their metal bones from the dead bodies.


    But Vixy saw an opportunity in this, so she decided to start buying the metal from the moles in exchange for travel protection and some specific types of food.


    The moles had some strange requests, asking for certain insects or herbs. Carnivores like the foxes had difficulty identifying these items but Vixy managed to scale through after some guidance.


    She and her foxes were quickly able to secure the collection of metals and started selling them to creatures who had metal powers.


    The demand was even more than she had expected. Many creatures from both within and outside the kingdom swarmed the foxes, asking for any metal at all they could get their paws on.


    The new metal market caused quite a stir, the appearance of this refined metal redefined the way their battles could be fought.


    Madam Vixy was excited, she intended to monopolize this new item with her foxes, and she could already see herself swimming in wealth.


    Of course, the moles and the lion royalty didn''t need to buy the metal, they could just take it, which was why Zabita had so many floating pieces of metal in her cave.


    Still, the other metal users of the forest would have to come to her to get refined metal, which was still a monopoly more or less.


    Everything should have gone according to plan, she should have been able to use these new resources to generate wealth not just for her, but the kingdom as a whole.


    Unfortunately for Vixy, her monopoly quickly dissolved after Ken, the white fox, decided to slick his claws into the metal market.

 Chapter 147 147: Boss Ken

    While Kael and Priya were having their casual conversation up in one of the mountain caves, something else was going on.


    Currently, two tier 2 wolves were walking with ten other ordinary wolves in an orderly fashion. The formation they walked had been formed with defense in mind, it was all for what they protected in the center.


    One of the tier two wolves, a wolf with fiery red fur and bright yellow eyes walked in front, acting as the vanguard of the group.


    The second wolf, the one with green fur and a single horn on her forehead walked behind, acting as the rearguard.


    The ten ordinary tier 1 wolves were divided into two groups, five on the right and five on the left. They protected the flanks, positioning themselves at different distances to be able to handle any sudden threats as well as alert their companions.


    Before this day, this group of wolves would be enough to be their own wolf pack, and they would be considered a very powerful one at that. But today they were escort guards, one in many.


    As they walked, sounds of low humming and grass being pressed on the ground resounded from the center.


    In the center of the formation, a long wooden object hovered a few inches above the ground and floated forward in the same direction the wolves were moving in.


    The long wooden object was a log, stripped of all its bark with a smooth cream-colored body exposed to the world. The top half of the log was gone, leaving the bottom half with a rough cut.


    It looked like a poorly made sled, the inside of the log had been crudely carved out and it was currently filled with small pieces of metal.


    The metal pieces formed a small pile inside the log. Despite the incredible weight of the metal pieces, the log was able to carry it without breaking away under the immense weight.


    The reason the carrier log was able to withstand such a large amount of load was because of the runes that collectively glowed under it.


    Under the log, etched into the barkless wooden body were multiple runes. All of them glowed with a greenish-blue color and released a low humming sound.


    The magic energy being released from these runes pressed on the grass beneath them, momentarily flattening them before letting them go so that they could spring back up.


    Although this floating Log Carrier looked crude, it was one of N''bay¨¦''s most helpful creations yet. With the help of this hover carrier, the creatures could now move their load or themselves around from one place to another.


    It was an early invention, something that came about due to necessity. There were still issues with the energy source, material, practical size, and magic dynamics.


    Two other carnivore creatures walked amid these wolves, though they were not wolves themselves.


    The two were foxes, one the size of a small dog with three tails and bright red fur. The other was a really large fox, this fox was so large it would be considered unreasonable by most standards. A fox shouldn''t be this size, they shouldn''t be taller than wolves the way this one was.


    What was more striking was the fur of the fox, pure white as snow fur. The white fur contrasted heavily with the green and brown forestry around him.


    With every step, the damp ground beneath him hardened and whenever he removed his paw, all that was left was a thin layer of ice.


    This was deliberate, a clear show of power, someone with this power level could easily restrain his aura but this white fox was clearly intending for everyone to see his powers.


    The white fox was none other than Ken, Vixy''s former subordinate and currently his own boss. The three-tailed red fox next to him was his assistant, one of the foxes he had poached from Madam Vixy.


    Behind Ken, four pristine white fluffy tails swerved from left to right. They didn''t move in the same mesmerizing manner as Vixy''s did. Rather, there was an iciness to their movements.


    He was now a tier 4 fox but aura right now was very similar to a tier 3 lion. It couldn''t be helped, naturally weaker creatures needed more tiers before they could catch up.


    "...and those guys are hypocrites. They allowed Nalii to come close to their tunnels but suddenly became fiercely territorial when we arrived, humph." The red-furred assistant chattered on about what they had experienced a few hours ago.


    Ken seemed to be mildly interested in what she was saying, he made it look like it was hard for him to look down at her. He had to keep his nose high at all times, he could not afford to be caught in the stance of the poor.


    "That''s because they respect those with power and authority, we might have the same power level, but our auras are different," Ken casually said as he looked around, tracing his light blue eyes over the large mountain in front of them.


    The two spoke on a private telepathic channel anchored by Ken, so the wolves escorting them were unaware of the conversation going on.


    "We should be respected more boss, it''s not easy to get to where we are now," The red fox said with indignation.


    A mischievous smirk appeared on his mouth, exposing a bit of his long and sharp canine teeth. Indeed it wasn''t ''easy'' to get to where he was at.


    Ken knew more than anyone that the only reason he was here with the status and power he currently wielded was because he had seized an opportunity at the right moment.


    He had picked his personal success over friendship and this is where it had gotten him, to a level where even Vixy couldn''t ignore him.


    ''She should have accepted my proposal to become life partners,'' Ken thought to himself. Sometimes, it was unclear whether he was doing all this to become wealthy or because he wanted to prove a point to Vixy. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Now, that single moment that changed his life trajectory, that opportunity he took to tell Kael his mind, had changed him. He had now become highly opportunistic, looking for anything that could be bought or sold with a profit margin.


    Most foxes were opportunist, greedy, deceptive, cunning, and smart. But Vixy and Ken were at the top in these things.


    Vixy was the caste leader of the Fox Merchants, but Ken didn''t have to listen to her at all. He mostly went about doing his own business, which unfortunately tended to get in Vixy''s way.


    "Boss, we are going to have to restock on those Hot Worms, it seems to be their favorite but it finishes very fast," The red fiery fox assistant suddenly remembered something and said.


    Hearing this, Ken frowned, "I know, but it''s not easy to find those worms. They''re also quite powerful despite their very small size, very strange creatures for real."


    "Yeah Boss, but boss. I heard Madam Vixy recently found a lot of those Hot Worms and has them ready to trade." The red-furred assistant added.


    Ken''s face relaxed, "I doubt she would trade with us. She wants to monopolize the whole Metal Market. If only she knew that the king would never allow such monopoly to exist." He said.


    His assistant tilted her head to the side with her eyes full of confusion, "Really? I thought the king likes Vixy,"


    "He does, among all the foxes, Vixy is the one he favors most. But just because he favors her doesn''t mean he would give her that kind of power.


    People like me exist to keep people like Vixy in check. Sometimes I feel like the king intentionally rewarded me with this goal right from the beginning. If so, then we have all been playing his game,"


    Normally, Ken would not talk about something like this with anyone, but the feeling of powerlessness Kael constantly gave him made him frustrated. He had to talk to somebody if not he would run mad.


    His assistant lowered her head and her red pointy ears fell. She gave a side glance to Ken, one filled with worry.


    Ken saw the way she looked at him, it was he same way he looked at Madam Vixy back when he wanted her to be his life partner.


    Ironically, Ken wasn''t as cold-hearted as his powers might paint him to be, he wasn''t oblivious to his assistant''s feelings towards him.


    And unlike Vixy, he was willing to give his assistant a chance, perhaps something special could bloom from the relationship.


    "Speak of the devil," The fiery assistant suddenly said as they closed in on the mountainfoot.


    The escort wolves stopped but the Carrier Log still continued moving forward, albeit a little more slowly.


    In front of the group was another group that looked like they were about to head out. This group also had a floating Carrier Log, but theirs was filled with small red worms that squirmed about.


    This oppose group also had wolves, four tier 2 wolves and twenty ordinary wolves guarded the cargo.


    In the center of the wolf formation were three foxes. Two of them were just like Ken''s assistant, each with three tails, one with yellow fur and another with green fur.


    The fox standing in the center was not even in the shape of a fox. There stood a naked woman, average height and smooth skin. She had straight crimson hair that fell down her shoulders and covered her bountiful breasts.


    Her face was beautiful, complimented by her deep and mesmerizing red eyes. One could only look at her curves and her eyes as those were the most attractive places on her human body.


    On top her head were two red fox ears with black tips and behind her were four fluffy crimson tails that moved around in a mesmerizing, almost hypnotizing manner.


    Despite her beauty, her expression was cold and her eyes were colder. She glanced at the large white fox called Ken, and then at the fiery red fox beside him, her former assistant.


    "Oh," Her terrifying telepathic field erupted just for her to pronounce a single word.

 Chapter 148 148: Be Lenient

    Oh," Vixy''s terrifying telepathic field erupted just for her to pronounce a single word.


    The telepathic wave brushed up on everyone''s mind. It did not damage but the weight of her power was there. It was the power of someone who could shatter their minds with a thought.


    Seeing Vixy, Ken stepped forward as his body began to transform. His pristine white fur shrunk into his body, leaving behind fair smooth skin.


    His body shrank in some places and elongated in other places. His snout cracked and pressed into his face until all that was left was the handsome face of a young man.


    Ken stood straight, his lean body emitting a small aura of coldness that affected the ground he stood on.


    The irony was blatant. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ken, an Ice Fox, was not actually a cold-hearted person. Even his eyes revealed traces of warmth and understanding.


    Vixy on the other hand, a Spirit Fox who was supposed to be very empathetic, constantly had a cold expression on her face. She looked stubborn and seductively dangerous at first glance.


    "It''s good to see you too, Vixy," Ken said sarcastically with a smile on his face. He did not stop walking, although he swerved slightly to the right so that he wouldn''t have to stand in front of his former boss.


    Vixy scoffed, "If I had known I would be walking on the same dirt as you traitors, I wouldn''t have bothered waking up today," Vixy''s words were venomous and straight to the point, she didn''t bother trying to hide her insult or her disdain.


    She turned to one of the tier 2 wolves guarding the Log Carrier, "Why did no one tell me that I would be encountering these¡­imbeciles."


    The wolf she was talking to had thin black fur covering his body. He had a lean body and slim limbs that would make some think he was weak and malnourished.


    But those who knew him knew that he was one of the most dangerous wolves The Kingdom had in its ranks.


    And the reason was because of his Wolfheart type. A look at his exposed metal claws and the glimpse of metal fangs whenever he moved his mouth would indicate to anyone the species of wolf he was.


    Prior to Kael annexing the Moles into the kingdom, wolves like him were pushed to the back, only remembered for their incredibly sharp claws and strong bones.


    Now, with refined metal in circulation, Metal Users like him could reach their full potential.


    For now, he served as Madam Vixy''s personal guard, a privilege Ken did not have.


    As a metal wolf, this personal guard enjoyed access to some of the best metal pieces before Vixy sold them to the public.


    Even he was unwilling to let go of his position, the benefits and luxury he usually enjoyed from being around Vixy were way more than what he got when he was around the other warmongering wolves.


    The personal guard quickly bowed his head when he heard Vixy''s question, "I apologize Madam Vixy, I did it check,"


    At first, his apology was merely superficial, something to appease his boss. But he literally felt Vixy''s eyes lock on to him, for a second he could feel that his mind was exposed in detail to this vixen.


    "I''m sorry," He said with his legs shivering slightly. It felt like a vicious clawed hand was gripping his soul, a slight squeeze and he would be snuffed out from the mortal world.


    Vixy scoffed, clearly not in a good mood, she was hardly in a good mood these days. As Ken and his escorts passed by, she eyed the Log Carrier and its contents.


    If she could, she would attack Ken and eliminate this competition. But Ken was a tier 4 fox, just like her, if they fought, the escorts on both sides would be the ones to suffer.


    She had never imagined that her own former assistants would be the ones to turn on her.


    Vixy was smart enough to see that what the fiery fox wanted from Ken was not wealth or status like he had wanted from her. Ken''s assistant really wanted a genuine relationship with him, she wanted her boss to be her life partner.


    This realization rubbed on Vixy the wrong way. On one hand, she hated Ken for his guts, but the fact that someone was willing to chase after him after she had rejected him made her feel itchy.


    To others, it looked like she had ignored him because he was lesser than her, then after he became successful, she started paying attention to him.


    Vixy had long decided to never be committed to anyone, not after the death of Ivan. She had chosen to remain single as long as possible, even if the king made advances to her, she would reject. It would be nice to reject the king, she sometimes thought.


    Unfortunately, King Kael never showed any interest in her beyond her skills in leading the Fox Merchants.


    For Vixy, the only thing that made her feel loved was luxury and the ability to satiate her greed. If not, she wouldn''t have joined Kael despite him being responsible for the death of her life partner.


    And now, this cocky white fox whom she had rejected back then had become successful and was being chased by another Vixen.


    No, this wasn''t right. They should all belong to her, even if she rejected them, they should all belong to her.


    The more Vixy thought about it, the more she wanted to rip all of them to pieces with her claws. But some things had to be avoided, the death of someone valuable like Ken would gain Kael''s attention, the wrathful kind that could cost her her life.


    "I need an assassin," As Vixy and her escorts continued on their way, she spoke privately to her personal guard. This metal-powered wolf had connections to some deputies under Commander Bibi, surely he should be able to help her calm the rage inside her.


    She dared not ask Commander Bibi for something like this, that guy was already becoming a fanatic, looking for the next war to lead his wolf army to, the next enemy to defeat, the next threat to neutralize.


    The last thing she wanted was to be considered an enemy of the kingdom. She and the wolf had never been that close in the first place. Come to think of it, Vixy had never really been close to anyone in the kingdom.


    She was¡­lonely.


    The personal guard sank into thought for a moment. Normally, he wouldn''t do this but the benefits he was receiving from Vixy outweighed the risks and Vixy knew this.


    "The latest caste addition, a friend of mine told me that those slithering fellows are very good at those kinds of things.


    The thing is information about them is intentionally being suppressed, an order from the King I presume." The personal guard responded.


    "Can it be arranged?" Vixy asked impatiently, she had no tolerance for technicalities now.


    The personal guard nodded his head, "I''ll see what I can do," He made no promises.


    Vixy nodded while narrowing her red eyes into dangerous slits, "The sooner we get rid of that thorn, the sooner we secure a life of luxury and power for ourselves."


    The personal guard needed not to be told twice. Everyone had their own little ''harmless'' ambitions. They just had to make sure their ambitions did not stir the wrath of the golden lion who controlled their life and death.


    #####


    While the vassals were busy with whatever they were doing down below, Kael and Priya had stepped out of Zabita''s cave and were following the descending road to the next cave.


    "I feel bad for Vixy," Priya suddenly said as she looked down the mountain. She saw the faint figures leaving the premises and the Log Carrier filled with red worms. Those figures were far down but she was still able to recognize them.


    "Why?" Kael asked. He looked in the same direction she was looking at. He simply used the terrifying eyesight of a War Lion to lock on their figures.


    The fact that Priya could sense and identify Vixy and her group from so far up was incredible. How powerful her spirit powers had become remained untested.


    "She''s suffering," Priya said with a sad expression.


    Kael frowned, "Suffering? What''s happening to her? Why am I not aware of this?" He asked, oblivious to what Priya was actually talking about.


    Priya shook her head, "She''s suppressing too much of it. The day she can''t hold in her emotions any longer¡­" Priya didn''t say much but she ended with a heavy tone.


    "Oh," Kael said, narrowing his eyes.


    Within a split second, Priya sensed the rising killing intent. She subconsciously gripped Kael''s arm tightly, afraid that he would directly jump down to meet Vixy. Kael had shown himself to be capable of such drastic and ruthless actions.


    "Kael, can you promise me that you will be lenient with Vixy in the future?" Priya asked, her grey eyes staring straight into Kael''s golden eyes. If Kael was not powerful, she would have unknowingly hypnotized him with her eyes alone.


    Kael frowned, "You read her mind? Is she planning something?" He asked, his arms twitching as he was about to remove his arm from Priya''s grasp.


    "It''s nothing that will directly affect you," Priya said and gripped harder. Her sharp claws were unable to pierce Kael''s skin and Kael barely noticed.


    "Then why are you asking me to be lenient with her?"


    "Just promise me you''d be lenient," Priya pleaded.


    Kael shook his head, "I don''t make promises,"

 Chapter 149 149: Mushrooms

    "I don''t make promises," Kael said sternly. This was one of the things he honestly didn''t like about Priya when it came to her personality.


    She was too emotional and could sometimes let her emotions influence her decision-making. And this emotional cloud tended to one at the wrong time.


    "Okay," Priya said with a defeated expression, "At least let her be for now, it''s no threat to you."


    Kael went silent, he was curious about what Priya had read from Vixy''s mind. From her behavior, Kael was sure that Priya would be unwilling to tell him and he wasn''t willing to let someone like Vixy ruin the relationship he had with his current strongest lioness.


    "Why do you do this?" Kael said, sighing and continuing his walk with Priya''s arm still wrapped around his.


    Vixy did not know that Priya had saved her from a total disaster because of her monetary feelings of pity.


    "Do what?" Priya asked, a little excited that Kael had relented. They were already closing in on the next cave.


    "Protect them, you tell me about their thoughts, yet you prevent me from doing anything," Kael said while shaking his head. He wasn''t too worked about it, everything was still under his control.


    If he had even felt a hint that something could affect his overall power and control over the kingdom, even Priya wouldn''t stop him from taking action.


    Priya smiled, thinking of the words in her head before she let it out, "I''m observing them, I''m learning. I tell these things to you so that you can be prepared, just in case."


    "Hmm, so you''re experimenting?" Kael asked.


    "No, that sounds so insensitive, hehe." Priya laughed, she didn''t say more than that.


    Kael did not press on as they had now reached the next cave. It wasn''t every day Kael was in the mood to stroll around and check everyone one after the other, Priya was enjoying every moment.


    The cave they had arrived at was very peculiar. From beyond the entrance, multiple thick vines extended out of the cave and rolled down the mountain.


    The vines were long, they dug into the stone and whatever loose soil they could find, extending all the way until they reached the lower parts of the mountain.


    Like this, a significant portion of the vines on the mountain came from the cave. Without too much guessing, anyone could tell that this cave belonged to Nalii.


    With all these vines all over the mountain, Nalii no longer had a disadvantage. As long as she was on the mountain, she could summon vegetation with half the effort.


    But that was just one of the purposes for the vines.


    Priya and Kael walked into the cave, immediately becoming aware of the sweet aroma of herbs and plants.


    Unlike Zabita''s cave which was plain and barely had anything apart from inlaid metal pieces in the walls, Nalii''s cave was different.


    This cave had vines and moss crawling over the walls and ceiling, the atmosphere inside was cool and damp, and it would make most people feel like sleeping inside it.


    Flowers of different colors grew along the vines on the wall, they were the source of all the fragrances. Although there was no source of light, lions had no need for it as their natural night vision allowed them to appreciate such beauty even at night.


    Nalii was currently moving about inside the cave in her human form, tending to different groups of strange-looking mushrooms. As Kael and Priya could not prevent their feet from touching the vines, they were inevitably discovered by Nalii.


    "Nice of you guys to show up, I was just about to step out," Nalii said without turning around to look at them.


    She bent down to attend to some red mushrooms that were growing in the corner. These were the same mushrooms that Kael had taken when he fought Darius.


    Kael subconsciously found his gaze on Nalii''s butt, he sighed, reminding himself that he wasn''t beyond his male instincts. He peeled his eyes away to look at the mushrooms.


    There were seven of these red-capped mushrooms in total and Nalii was taking very good care of them. It turned out that these red-capped mushrooms were rarer than she had thought.


    After her mission to annex the moles was completed, Nalii took the time to look for these mushrooms, even assembling a force of wolves to help her out.


    If the mushrooms could increase Kael''s strength by such a margin, even if it was for a limited time, it was worth investing time and resources in. She had imagined the army of wolves eating red-capped mushrooms just before they went for battle, so her son wouldn''t have to risk his life again.


    But reality was comically cruel and the universe maintained its balance. She found out later on that something so valuable could not possibly be in large amounts.


    Kael had just been extremely lucky to have found those red-capped mushrooms for himself.


    Not only did the artificial growth of these mushrooms have strict requirements, it was hard to multiply.


    It was only after hundreds of trials and errors supposed by boredom did Nalii finally have some intuition about how to go about growing the red-capped mushrooms.


    While she was crouching, she gently reached out to touch one of the mushrooms. She pinched the stem slightly as her antlers lit up with green light.


    With calculated gentleness, she pulled the mushroom out of the vine it was growing on. She brought up her other hand and began to tear the mushroom into small pieces.


    After she was done, she spread the pieces on other vines nearby, carefully placing them in places that she would remember.


    There was no need for the level of gentleness she was giving to these mushrooms, she was instinctively being careful with them because of their value because it was a requirement.


    "For all these pieces I spread about, we should get at least two new mushrooms¡­hopefully.


    If we are lucky, we could get three¡­hopefully," She said.


    Kael sighed at this, he already knew this. The rate of reproduction for these mushrooms was so frustrating it confused him.


    Sure, he could find a couple of them in the forest growing naturally, but that''s not what he wanted. He wanted to be able to access them directly from the confines of his kingdom.


    For now, they only had a few dozen of these red mushrooms.


    Nalii stood up and walked to another corner of the cave where another set of mushrooms was growing.


    These mushrooms did not have red caps, but purple caps. They were also emitting a funny fragrance.


    In their quest to acquire the red-capped mushrooms, Nalii had decided to acquire anything that was similar in any way.


    She had brought back different mushrooms and herbs to test out. Most of these mushrooms were useless or toxic, not really bringing any benefit after being consumed.


    Apart from the toxic herbs that could be useful, most of them were completely useless with pointless side effects.


    Fortunately, one of the useful mushrooms she ended up finding was these purple-capped mushrooms which had some very interesting side effects.


    Nalii picked one of these mushrooms surprisingly fast and brought it to her nose. Kael watched with a wry smile, he didn''t bother to stop her though.


    Nalii opened her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and licked the purple cap of the mushroom. She swallowed the moisture, savoring its salty and sweet taste.


    As she stood up, her eyes dilated, expanding to the point that the whites of her eyes were barely visible. All that could be seen was the verdant green iris and the big black pupils.


    This was what it looked like to be intoxicated, Kael knew. He had taken these purple-capped mushrooms before in his spare time.


    Even he had to admit that these mushrooms had some very fantastic effects. From experience, he could tell that Nalii was currently at her highest performance mentally, at the same time, she was not.


    It scrambled the mind, letting the consumer descend into a false state of enlightenment and allowing them to perceive the world from another colorful angle.


    The only known side effects were the constant hallucinations that occurred while the consumer was in that intoxicated state. But they had found a way to work around it.


    Nalii and Kael had discovered that if they were strong enough, they could suppress those hallucinations, and even eliminate them while maintaining their pseudo-enlightenment.


    "That''s the stuff that makes it hard for me to read their minds," Priya said with a frown on her face, clearly discontent with the existence of the purple-capped mushrooms.


    She had discovered that it was very difficult for her to understand the mind of anyone under the influence of these mushrooms. It was like it was directly cultivated to counter people like her and she didn''t like it one bit.


    Nalii turned around to look at her son and her half-sister. Her eyes trailed their hair, going from the grey strands to the golden strands.


    "Damn," A silly smile appeared on her face, "You guys are colorful,"


    Kael raised an eyebrow, the effects had already begun. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nalii''s big eyes glanced down at her green hair that covered parts of her two big breasts. She coiled the green hair around her finger, observing it with shocking concentration, "Hehehe, I''m also colorful,"


    The smile on Kael''s face was wiped away, was this how he behaved when he took the mushroom? He shivered at the thought.


    He couldn''t allow his subjects to see him or his consort like this.


    "LET''S GO!" Nalii proclaimed as she hurriedly walked out of the cave before Kael could react. Like a blur, she passed Kael and Priya and was already standing outside the cave entrance with her hands on her waist.

 Chapter 150 150: Skybaud

    Space twisted around Kael as he teleported out of the cave and appeared in front of Nalii.


    "Where are you going?" He asked with a frown. Nalii didn''t look like she was in the right state of mind to be wandering around at the moment.


    "Don''t worry, I can take care of myself," Nalii said casually while still keeping her strange smile on her face.


    "Hmm, follow us then, and stay by my side." Kael offered.


    "Follow you to where? Zabita and I are the only ones in our caves." Nalii revealed.


    "Everyone has gone to do their own thing again. Eidel and Ruda went out to hunt, Katari and that new caste are trying to work some things out I guess, N''bay¨¦ has gone to look for something.


    Olivia is hanging out at the bottom, I honestly think she should get her fat ass to work on something. Oh, Diane is briefing Commander Bibi on potential threats that need to be neutralized..." She revealed.


    "Oh," Kael muttered, he looked to to his right, down the descending spiral road. He briefly let his spirit sense out, letting it roam like a ferocious beast that had been released from its cage.


    Indeed, just as Nalii had said, the other lionesses were absent from their caves. He narrowed his eyes, he had planned on strolling down the spiral road, checking on each of his lionesses one after another.


    But it was quite unrealistic for him to think that would all be in the cave at this point.


    Nalii suddenly did something that caught Kael''s attention, she lay on the ground. She lay on the vines that were creeping out of her cave, with her head facing the sky.


    "What are you doing?" Kael asked curiously. He saw how her antlers were glowing and could feel the surge of energy coming from the vines.


    "I''m going down the mountain," Nalii said happily. The matured and motherly lioness was already gone, all that was left was this bundle of unexplainable humor.


    After saying that, the vines Nalii was lying on twitched and turned. They wrapped around Nalii''s body, covering her in a cocoon made of vines.


    Vines stretched out of the cocoon, acting as legs that propped the cocoon up from the ground. With grace and elegance, the vine cocoon crawled down the mountain.


    Kael watched this with a tired expression. He wanted to stop Nalii from going down the mountain but he received a telepathic message that caused him to readjust his priorities.


    *EIIIICH!*


    The loud cry of an eagle reached Kael''s ears. Just then, Priya who had just walked out of Nalii''s cave looked in the same direction Kael was looking at.


    "Oh, Skybaud came," She said.


    Off in the distance, under the dark blanket of the night sky, a small dot was approaching rapidly and expanding just as fast.


    The figure got closer, revealing itself to be an avian creature. Two powerful and massive wings flapped magnificently, creating small wind blades as it moved.


    A massive eagle soon appeared above Kael, a creature that was simply filled with Majesty.


    He had yellow and white feathers on his body, arranged in layered patterns. His beak was a darker shade of yellow, the same with his feet.


    Being stared at by both the King and his consort, Skybaud dared not stay in the sky. Wouldn''t it be an insult if he made the king have to raise his head to address him?


    He descended to the ground and landed in front of Kael and Priya. His landing caused a low thud sound to spread out and his jet-black talons created clanking sounds as they struck the hard stone ground.


    Skybaud stood at a height of two meters plus, being taller than Kael who was in his humanoid form.


    Kael had noticed that when birds had similar power levels to other creatures tended to be taller. An example was Isaiah, the Space Crane.


    Isaiah was also of a similar power level to a tier 3 lion but he stood nearly three meters tall, towering over most creatures of the same level.


    Although not all birds were like this, enough of them were like that for Kael to notice it. Skybaud who stood before him was not as tall as Isaiah but he was still quite tall.


    "Your Majesty," Skybaud bowed to his King, just as he had been doing since the circumstances that caused him to be a subordinate of Kael occurred.


    More than one month ago, after Kael had realized that depending on Natalia for information was very risky he had made arrangements to secure his own intelligence-gathering agency.


    He formulated a plan to catch some birds, the best type of creatures other than the spiders for intelligence gathering.


    His plan also involved the use of Darius''s body to make a trap to catch these birds. Despite so much time having passed, the dead tiger remained fresh. Even in death, the power of a tier 4 tiger still preserved the body.


    Kael didn''t know how long this preserved state would have lasted and he had no patience to wait and find out.


    Kael had N''bay¨¦ cut off some large pieces of Darius''s body and assembled them in different areas of the forest. These areas were closely monitored with observation runes which Kael also had access to.


    Skybaud just happened to be the first to fall for one of the traps.


    Back then, he was just an eagle with a power slightly higher than a tier 2 lion, his strength was high and his appetite was higher. He desperately searched for any opportunity to evolve to the next stage of his life.


    He had been flying high above the sky one afternoon, gliding just below the sparse clouds with sharp winds overflowing from his feathers.


    His sharp eyes caught sight of a squirming red piece of flesh on the branch of a tree. On a normal day, something like this would have been ignored by him, he preferred hunting slightly larger animals and those with high quality too.


    But something about this piece of flesh was interesting. His keen eyes were able to notice the faint black stripes on the fur-less flesh. He could also see traces of a very heavy aura.


    Curious, he dived lower to have a clearer view. He saw that the piece of flesh hung from one of the branches in an unnatural way like it had been left there accidentally.


    The faint stripes he was seeing spurred a bit of information within his mind. There was a fight in that area not too long ago. A fight between a golden lion and a tiger covered in red lightning.


    He had not been present to watch the fight but his friends and relatives who were observing from a distance had described it as the most intense fight they had ever witnessed.


    ''Could this be the flesh of that tiger?'' Skybaud had thought that day when he saw the piece of flesh. It was way too optimistic for him to think of this but he saw no reason not to. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After all, the body of the tiger mysteriously disappeared, no one knew if that golden lion had eaten it or if it had been distributed to his subordinate.


    Rumors had spread around at some point that the golden lion had ripped the tiger to shreds and the flesh was spread all over the mountain. Although most of those who witnessed the battle knew that this was false, they didn''t say much about it.


    Soon, that rumor has become a conspiracy theory of some sort with some creatures literally dedicating time to finding the pieces of Darius''s body. This rumor spread and died within a brief period, not up to a week, but enough time for Skybaud to know about it.


    Maybe, just maybe, this was one of those pieces. Skybaud made a decision, he swooped down, heading straight for the piece of flesh.


    His talons had been brandished against the world, ready to grab and take off with the flesh as fast as possible.


    Unfortunately, Kael and Fate both had different plans for him. As soon as Skybaud''s talons had touched the flesh, a jolt of electricity shot through his body.


    The sudden electric shock paralyzed him, cutting off his cry for help and rendering him flightless.


    He watched as red tendrils shot out of the tree and the ground, coiling around his twitching wings and legs.


    Half an hour later, a humanoid arrived with some wolf escorts to take him away. Skybaud had never been so scared in his life, any creature that could have this anthropomorphic form was not someone he had the power to mess with.


    He could only watch helplessly as he was dragged to the direction of the mountain, only then did he realize that he had fallen for a trap. What was weird was that the humanoid did not take the tiger flesh, she just left it there, as if she was hoping to catch more unfortunate souls like Skybaud.


    Skybaud had readied his mind, he was convinced that they had captured him to eat. Perhaps, that mysterious king was hungry for some bird meat. The thought of how he was going to die made him anxious and caused him to start screaming like a madman the closer they got to the mountain.


    He thought about how they would kill him, how they would cut his throat with their sharp claws, how they would rip his wings from his body¡­


    No one paid any attention to Skybaud''s noisy antics and even those who heard his cry from the sky dared not swoop down to save him.


    Skybaud remembered how surprised he was when he finally met Kael and the latter proposed the formation of an intelligence agency rather than trying to eat him.

 Chapter 151 151: Suffering From Success

    Skybaud remembered that day very clearly like it was a fever dream. One moment he was a free roam mighty eagle, the next thing he knew he was discussing the structure of a new caste with the king.


    Skybaud had been reluctant to cooperate at first, planning on escaping if the chance came. But as he conversed more with Kael, he found himself smitten by the king''s charisma and vision.


    There was just something about Kael''s goals that made it look like they would be achievable no matter what, all that was needed was the execution of the plans.


    Kael talked with him a lot about the future, he talked about order, bringing the wilderness under one command.


    And for that to happen, Kael needed trusted subordinates who could assist him and lead different divisions of his kingdom.


    Skybaud was entranced by the unseen future, especially one where he held the position Kael had offered him.


    Kael had offered for him to be the new leader of a caste that focused on intel collection, almost like a private investigation agency filled with dedicated detectives.


    Kael had also mentioned that his position came with a temporary IF. That is, if Kael ever found Skybaud lacking and unable to perform his duties well, he would be immediately removed and replaced with someone else.


    Seeing that there were a lot of benefits and not much risk, Skybaud ended up accepting, adding his identity mark to Kael''s Vassal Record and concluding the end of Kael''s trap.


    From that day, Skybaud established the Intel Avian Intel caste, a caste dedicated to scouting, investigations, and accumulation of information on everything and everyone.


    Things pretty much became easier for Skybaud after that. He had the authority to recruit other birds and perform investigations on different things which he did.


    He had even gotten the opportunity to hunt and eat many high-level creatures, this inevitably gave him the final push needed to advance to a power level similar to tier 3 lions.


    "Report," Kael''s voice broke Skybauds trip down memory lane.


    "Oh," Skybaud bowed again, he arranged his thoughts, getting ready to tell his king today''s report.


    "Your Majesty, our crow scouts that have made contact with the forest edge elephants have had no success in contacting them.


    The elephants lack interest in joining us sir, they seem to believe their strength is sufficient," Skybaud said.


    Kael nodded when he heard this, "That is to be expected, we can''t expect such creatures to willingly come under our banner, especially with the confidence they have in their strength. They are quite strong, I won''t lie."


    Priya also nodded, "Indeed, so what will you do now? You might need to talk more expressively¡­"


    "The time for talking has ended," Kael cut Priya off, "Leave the elephants alone for now. Once we are ready, we''ll beat them to submission.


    For now, have the crow scouts on standby to observe and collect useful information on the elephants."


    Priya went silent, for someone as powerful as she was, she was a bit reluctant to commit to violence.


    She was similar to Nalii when it came to passiveness, except that Nalii was just not interested in violence when it wasn''t necessary. Priya just preferred a more mind-based form of combat, rather than the physical that usually came with injuries.


    Still, just like Nalii, she was aware of the necessity of violence. If not for violence, a lot of things wouldn''t work for them, they wouldn''t be able to eat or command so many creatures at once.


    "Alright, Your Majesty," Skybaud said. "Oh, Your Majesty, there seems to be some resistance from the spiders.


    Our Hawks have reported spiders approaching kingdom citizens and bribing them to give out information or perform certain forms of vandalism.


    If not that those foxes and wolves knew that they were being watched, they might have agreed and accepted the bribes from those foreigners


    Sir, from what I understand, Natalia is very smart. She may be worried but never this desperate."


    Kael shrugged his shoulders, as though he had expected Skybaud to talk about this. He continued his walk with Priya following behind.


    "Natalia is not the only Web Handler in the whole spider network, Skybaud. Our rise was bound to attract the attention of powerful forces that had hidden in the dark for a long time.


    They will try to infiltrate, cause trouble, and extract information out of our weak links. That is why you are here Skybaud.


    Since we grow, we should expect this to be a regular occurrence. You can say that we are suffering from success."


    Skybaud blinked, sometimes he wondered just how his king''s mind worked. It was absurd, it was unnatural, it was otherworldly.


    Kael knew better than all the creatures of the forest the cycle of success and attention. It was a natural thing he had observed a lot of times.


    During his previous life on earth, the company he worked for saw many individuals rise from entry-level jobs to supervisors, managers, and department supervisors.


    Anytime someone was predicted to be on a trajectory of promotion, it usually gained the attention of everyone. Most times, especially at the early stages, the attention was the bad kind.


    An ordinary office staff who worked hard and had good connections would get the attention of bosses and colleagues. Like bloodhounds, they could sniff out how long it would take before he or she got a promotion.


    It was usually these times that the employees found out the hard way that there was no such thing as friendship in the corporate world. Former friendlies would become so strained that it would feel like they had never had coffee together during lunch breaks.


    Those who pushed through despite the obstacles would gain experience and use it to pursue future promotions.


    As for those who were crushed under the pressure of hostiles, they would be forgotten, just like Kael had been.


    The only difference between Kael and those losers was that those ''losers'' tried, they applied effort. Kael just did the bare minimum.


    Kael sighed, this wasn''t a memory that he appreciated coming up at any moment, a reminder of his flawed self.


    Priya, ever so sensitive, sensed the subtle change in Kael''s mind. Although she couldn''t read his mind, she could still brush the surface just enough to sense emotions he didn''t consciously try to hide.


    "Kael, let''s go and meet Katari. Skybaud, you can continue your work, thank you for the report." She said as she followed after Kael.


    "Thank you, Your Majesty," Skybaud said, oblivious to the slight change in Kael''s mood.


    He spread his large wings, revealing his six-meter wingspan. The movement of his wings caused the wind to pick up around him and his feathers to flutter.


    With a single flap, Skybaud shot into the sky with a burst of air, leaving behind a boom. Perhaps, if he evolved again, he could reach the speed of sound.


    Kael and Priya continued walking with Priya bringing up conversations to distract Kael from whatever was on his mind.


    If Kael wanted, he could just teleport him and Priya to whatever destination he wanted to go. But this moment was nice, yes, walking down the mountain while naked was a very nice thing to do.


    #####


    A couple of minutes passed and the duo made it to the bottom of the mountain. As soon as they arrived, four wolves that had been on standby quickly came over and stood beside them.


    The wolves acted as guards, merely for formality. They weren''t even tier 2 wolves, even then, having a tier 2 wolf to act as guards for Kael was a waste of power. It wasn''t like they would be able to protect him from anything that could kill him.


    Kael ignored them, he continued his conversation with Priya on their private telepathic channel while they walked.


    The bottom of the mountain was a busy place. Wolf groups were coming back from escorts, patrols, or hunting missions. Some were just preparing to go.


    Some foxes were squabbling over which products to buy and which foreigner they should sell it to. Each of them pursued wealth like their life depended on it, just how Kael wanted it.


    Log Carriers could be seen hovering about, carrying different items within them.


    N''bay¨¦''s most helpful invention yet.


    Kael wasn''t too sure of that. Maybe for the ordinary creatures, log Carriers were impressive, but to Kael who had the memories of previous Primordial Lions, this invention was inevitable.


    He had seen way more impressive things.


    This didn''t mean he wouldn''t appreciate N''bay¨¦ for her effort and innovation. Fortunately, she didn''t dwell on this small success and was already working on other things. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Katari and those guys are in the pool cave, I wonder what they''re talking about," Priya said, having already scanned the area and quickly located Katari.


    Unbeknownst to everyone who was going about their lives, a deadly force was moving toward the mountain with extraordinary speed and surging killing intent.


    Far away, under the cover of the night, two lions, one winged lioness, one crane, and twenty-five dog-sized rats moved swiftly.


    Their target was not just the mountain, it was the mysterious golden lion known as Kael.

 Chapter 152 152: Suicide Bombers

    Heavy footsteps echoed into the night, the footsteps were hurried and caused the ground to tremble slightly.


    Two large beasts ran through the forest ahead of the others, brushing their large bodies against the trees and not caring about the little critters that were crushed.


    One of the beasts, a massive water lion, ran at the front. His blue scales glittered and clashed against each other as his body moved.


    Every oscillation of his limbs was followed by a whip of water following behind him and pushing him forward. He moved like a four-legged snake, slipping past the trees in ways that most wouldn''t consider possible.


    The dorsal fin on his back opened and posed periodically, mostly when his body was enveloped in a blob of water and propelled forward.


    Wadolius moved so fast on land that one could only guess just how fast he would be underwater since that was where he was dominant.


    Catching up just behind Wadolius''s moving form was another lion with a slightly bigger and bulkier stature.


    This lion moved with the sound of six footsteps, footsteps that were very heavy and caused the ground to quake slightly.


    Baba, the earth lion, had six limbs, four front limbs, and two hind limbs. They moved in synchrony, pushing Baba to speeds most creatures with four legs couldn''t dream of reaching.


    On each of his paws were thick and long black claws that dug into the earth whenever they touched upon the ground.


    His mane was full, dark, and bouncy, showcasing the majesty of all male lions. Every strand of hair of his mane jiggled as he moved, creating a mesmerizing scene.


    Baba had a faster method to get to where he was going, a subterranean method that would let him surpass Wadolius who was in front of him.


    But they were not traveling alone, he had to take into consideration the twenty-five slave rats running behind him. If he and Wadolius decided to go at their full speed, those slave rats wouldn''t be able to keep up.


    Besides, creating a tunnel at this moment was not ideal. He preferred to reserve his energy in case he needed to escape, although he doubted that.


    With the preparation Prince Xu Ying had made for them, he doubted anyone in his forest would be prepared for it.


    Thinking of the special preparation Xu Ying had made for them, Baba looked back with a look of pity on his lion face.


    Behind him, twenty-five rats, each the size of a German shepherd dog, ran on all fours or more.


    Some jumped from the trees, from one branch to another, trying hard to keep up with the two massive lions in front of them.


    The fastest rats were those with blue electricity coursing over their bodies and those with muscular statures. These two sets of rats easily outran their peers, closing up to Baba.


    But despite their speed, they couldn''t catch up to Baba, or they didn''t dare to. That look of pity that Baba had just given them, made them sad about their upcoming fate.


    Even then, they were sure that the look of pity on Baba''s face would disappear the moment they matched his speed.


    That would be a direct slap to the esteemed lion''s face. He was already slowing himself down out of consideration for them, an act of kindness that was rare among lions.


    Trying to run beside him would just make him mad and turn whatever pity he had for them into instant aggression.


    Their instincts that had been honed for millions of years screamed at them to not dare enrage their masters.


    An instinct which they didn''t want¡­


    Above the trees, far up in the sky, two figures flew side by side beneath the clouds.


    One of the figures was Isaiah in his large crane form. His black and white feathers fluttered as the night wind blew through them.


    His two massive wings flapped with grace, occasionally twisting the space around him. He could be at the mountain in a few minutes, he could open a series of portals and he would make it to his desired destination, but the sweet taste of revenge was what prevented him from doing so.


    He had to be patient.


    Beside him was a large lioness covered in black fur and feathers. Her large black wings flapped gently with as little movement as could be thought of, yet the amount of gust she generated with those little wing flaps was terrifying.


    Her two front paws were tucked in under her belly and her hind limbs were pushed back, improving her aerodynamics.


    Her big hazel eyes stared down with a mixture of boredom and excitement, as though she was tired of the journey and wanted to be at their destination as soon as possible.


    She looked down to see Baba and Wadolius running close to each other, she sighed when she saw them knock down some trees. As expected of large lions, they liked to throw their weight around at any chance they got, something they did subconsciously.


    Her sharp eyes then trailed the twenty-five rats running behind the two lions. Her eyes caught the little glowing runes that had been etched on their backs.


    She pitied these rat slaves, the preparations Xu Ying had made just to protect the three of them was nothing short of pure ruthlessness.


    Each of these rat slaves was valuable and comparable to tier 2 lions. However, the part of heaven she came from was not kind to the weak tier 2 lions and these rats were numerous.


    Anywhere other than ''that'' heaven and anything comparable to a tier 2 lion could be a standard force.


    Yet, just to ensure the protection and success of Chloe, Baba, and Wadolius, Xu Ying had turned these rat slaves into suicide fighters.


    Indeed, Xu Ying had rigged each rat to explode when they died. This meant that each of these twenty-five rats was a living bomb that would detonate the moment they ceased to live.


    This preparation by Xu Ying was also made full proof because of the training and psychological brainwashing each rat had undergone before becoming a slave. They were all trained and imbued with instincts that made them follow the orders of their masters to death.


    Xu Ying''s final command was to ensure the survival and success of each lion, even if it meant having to risk their lives.


    One could already predict how troublesome this force would be in the coming hours.


    "We should stop to rest after some time, they need to preserve their energy," Chloe sent a telepathic message to Isaiah.


    By ''they'', she was referring to the rats. It was very important to not mistake Chloe''s pity for sympathy. If the tears didn''t rest, how would they be effective when sacrificing their lives for her?


    Isaiah heard the message and nodded his head. He did not mistake Chloe''s words for a suggestion, that was clearly an order.


    The crane looked down to see the two lions and the twenty-five rats slaves. He could see the runes on the backs of the rats and shivered anytime he thought about the use of those runes.


    Isiah had taken advantage of Adolf''s intoxicated state to subtly inquire about the use of those runes. He was careful to ask it in such a way that didn''t draw suspicion.


    Adolf, being as high as the moon, wasn''t able to think too deeply about his words. He told Isaiah that those runes were basically used to turn the rats into explosives that would detonate upon death.


    Isaiah was only happy that the rune on his shoulder was triangular and different compared to the rectangular runes on the rats. At least, on the surface, it seemed like he wasn''t also etched with the suicide bomb rune.


    But Isiah did not trust Xu Ying one bit, that scheming and dangerously intelligent lion was not to be trusted at all. Till now, Isiah did not know what exactly the rune on his shoulder was for.


    "Tell me more about this Kael," Chloe asked.


    "Oh," Isiah thought for a moment, this was his chance to do some last-minute manipulations.


    "Well, like I''ve told you guys before, Kael is a weak-willed lion who tends to hide behind his lionesses and the animals that share land with him¡­" Isaiah paused, allowing the damage to set in.


    As expected, Chloe frowned. Never did she imagine that the words ''weak-willed'' and ''lion'' would be used in the same sentence; it gave her a nauseating feeling.


    "Go on," She said, knowing that Isaiah was not done talking.


    "Kael doesn''t seem to know about your culture. I''m guessing that it is because he was born in this world, away from the royal lion race.


    You would have to get to him before he can take cover and you may have to be fast about it too. Kael has a lot of tricks up his sleeves, and he is pampered by his lionesses.


    If you want to get him to learn about the Lion Culture, talking is useless. I''m afraid you will have to be more direct and dirty your paws," Isaiah said.


    Chloe digested Isaiah''s words but said nothing else. There was a faint flicker of suspicion that flashed through her eyes, but she hid it with a blink. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Isaiah felt a shiver down his spine after he saw that look in Chloe''s eyes.


    "Isaiah, you know I love bird meat right?" Chloe asked.


    Isaiah swallowed his saliva, reinforcing his mind with whatever mental steel he had left, "Yes."


    "Good,"


    Chloe needed not to talk too much, her threat had been delivered.

 Chapter 153 153: Assassins

    On the mountain, inside the pool cave.


    A cacophony of hisses filled the cave, the slithering sounds bouncing from wall to wall and causing it to echo out of the cave.


    The collective sound of so many hisses was very frightening. The wolves who stood nearby as patrol guards could not help but shiver.


    If there was a spirit wolf among them, they would have engaged in a discussion and gossiped away to pass the time. Unfortunately, they could only stand by in silence, hoping that nothing bad would happen.


    Inside the cave, everywhere was dark but the creatures inside had no need for light. They could see just fine.


    The creatures in question were all snakes, serpents of different kinds and patterns. There were cobras, pythons, boas, vipers, copperheads, cottonmouth, and many more, in their base forms.


    The more powerful serpents didn''t have these differences, at least they were not apparent. Fire snakes, water snakes, metal snakes, poisonous flora snakes, earth snakes, etc.


    Their patterns were intricate and their bodies were a bit distinct from each other.


    For example, the earth snakes and the water snakes looked like boas and pythons. The metal snakes resembled vipers or rattlesnakes with their specially shaped head or tail.


    The fire snakes seemed to be dominated by cobras with a few vipers here and there. The poisonous flora snakes, the ones with beautiful green scales and flower patterns were a general collection.


    Almost all snakes that started out as venomous evolved into poisonous flora snakes. One could say that flora snakes made up up to forty percent of the total snakes present.


    The snakes took up space inside the cave, covering every knock and cranny with their slithering bodies.


    Some snakes swam inside the indoor pool, sinking in and out, and exploring the place very well. The fire snakes stayed away from the water, preferring to stay close to the walls.


    Apart from the snakes, there was another creature inside the cave with them. A young woman with monolid eyes and fair skin stood beside the pond, just a few inches from getting her feet wet.


    Behind her was a brown tail with a lustrous black rift of fur at the end. She had straight black hair that fell to her shoulders, complimenting her beauty. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately, these snakes had a weird perception of what beauty should be and could not appreciate Katari''s beauty.


    The ears on the upper sides of her head twitched as she stared at the serpents around her with her brownish-yellow eyes.


    "Your Highness, Katari, the list you have given us is extensive. But there seems to be an issue¡­" The strongest snake in the room said.


    She was a massive green snake with a length of ten meters. Her head was triangular shaped, and her blue-forked tongue casually shot out of her mouth occasionally.


    Her eyes, yellow with black slits, stared straight at Katari, threateningly. If Katari didn''t already know that this is just how the snakes looked at people, she would have taken it as a threat.


    Surprisingly, this green serpent wasn''t the biggest in the cave even though she was the strongest. The biggest snake was a large water python that was already residing inside the indoor pond.


    This was another reminder that sometimes, size didn''t always equal strength. This green serpent alone had enough venom to kill half the snakes inside the cave at the moment.


    "What''s the issue?" Katari asked nonchalantly. She put her hands behind her back, mimicking Kael''s dominant pose.


    "Well," The green serpent lowered her head, "Two of these targets are elephants.


    Not just any elephants too, but these two have already awakened their elephant heart and evolved. Even though they have only evolved once, they are far stronger than anything you or I have ever seen.


    Your Highness, please, this is very serious."


    Katari closed her eyes and sighed, the elephants were a thorn in their flesh. Kael was already planning on expanding the borders of the kingdom, but the elephants stood in his way without knowing it.


    The elephant herd liked to wander around the edge of the forest, the parts that separated the forest from the wild plains.


    At the same time, the desire to turn the elephants into vassals existed. It was an obstacle that was welcomed.


    The only problem remained that the elephants were a set of powerful creatures that couldn''t be taken lightly. Their strengths were earth-shaking and their minds were sharp.


    Each elephant needed just one evolution before they gained the ability to have a humanoid form. This was something that the Lions could only achieve after two evolutions.


    Not only that, but that single evolution would propel their strengths but by a large margin that it would feel like cheating. For the elephants, that single evolution would make them far stronger than a tier 3 lion, making them closer in power level to a tier 4 lion.


    Although it won''t make them strong enough to defeat one, they wouldn''t necessarily lose. This was an unfair advantage that the lions could do nothing about.


    Katari didn''t know it but across countless galaxies, lions have had to resort to extreme violence just to subjugate elephants, sometimes destroying whole biomes and genocide l.


    To the lions, the elephants were a universal pain second only to hyenas.


    If one evolution gave them so much power, one could only imagine how much stronger they would get after their next evolution.


    "I''m aware of the difficulty, Esta," Katari said to the green snake who was named Esta.


    "Don''t forget that you guys came to us on your own, you asked us to shelter you, to give you purpose, and we have given it to you," Katari said again, narrowing her eyes.


    Esta lowered her head again, "I''m very much aware, your highness," Esta said.


    She had led most of the serpents in this cave to submit to Kael about a month ago. Seeing that Kael was growing his forces, it wouldn''t be long before he clashed with her.


    She and her kind needed a place to hibernate, eat, and shed their skin in peace. Kael could also provide this place for them, all they needed to do was submit to him.


    So she convinced as many snakes as she could to follow her to meet Kael. Kael obviously agreed on the condition that they worked for him, even giving them extra benefits.


    That was what led to the creation of the Snake Assassin Caste. Now, two castes had been newly added, the Snake Assassins and the Avian Intel.


    "Are you aware? Are you also aware that you haven''t proven yourself worthy of our gifts?" Katari took a firm step forward, instantly closing the distance between her and the green snake.


    Esta''s body was propped up, allowing her to look down on Katari. However, as soon as Katari stepped forward, she slithered back, making sure to keep a safe distance.


    Katari didn''t seem to bother, she continued walking and Esta continued moving back.


    "We have eliminated some of your competitions, Your Highness, don''t you think it''s unfair to say that?"


    As Esta''s words died down, Katari stopped walking.


    Silence¡­


    Even the surrounding snakes dared not hiss.


    What was this? When did their leader grow such balls to talk to Katari like that?


    To the joy of everyone l, Katari didn''t do anything, "Your value is not equal to the amount of benefits we have provided for you. You all need to work harder.


    The elephants will be eliminated, and you will coordinate it. I don''t want to hear any complaints, only results.


    If you can''t do this, tell me, let me relieve you of your life right now. I''m sure someone else will be happy to take your place."


    Katari didn''t mince her words, she couldn''t give a damn about how they felt. All she wanted was results, she didn''t want Kael to be troubled by this anymore.


    "I will try my best, your Highness," Esta said. There was resentment in her heart but what could she do? Attacking Katari was no different from suicide.


    Even if she rallied all the snakes, Kael, and his other powerful subordinates were still there. She and her snakes would be eliminated within ten minutes if they actually tried it.


    It wasn''t that she wasn''t satisfied with her job, it''s just that¡­Katari was a bully.


    Katari didn''t care about anything or anyone, all she wanted was for things to go her way by any means necessary. And the last thing she wanted to do was frustrate Katari.


    Esta would have preferred if someone else took over from Katari. Any other lioness was better, as long as it wasn''t Katari.


    Unfortunately for Esta, the two humanoids standing outside had different opinions.


    "Katari is so effective," Kael said as he stood by the cave with Priya beside him.


    "Yes, she''s perfect for keeping the snakes in line." Priya agreed, "Don''t you want to go inside?"


    Kael shook his head, "No, it''s good that the snakes are keeping Katari busy, I don''t want to distract her."


    Priya nodded, "True, oh well, what should we do now?"

 Chapter 154 154: The Religion

    A five feet tall chubby lioness casually strolled along the pathway beside the mountain foot. Olivia, the chubby and large lioness, walked with a skip in her steps, as though she was thinking of something exciting.


    By her side were a series of small artificial caves, carved into the mountain side by side. As Olivia walked, she would occasionally look into the caves to see what was inside.


    *BAM!*


    A beast slammed his body into a transparent red barrier that stood in between the cave and the outside world. Olivia didn''t flinch, although her claws were already bared.


    She kept on walking, ignoring the bashing on the red barriers by these prisoners. She understood that their captivity was only for some time.


    If these beasts did not cooperate soon, they would be killed and fed to whoever desired their flesh.


    Olivia, being the only Fortune Lioness in the whole kingdom, had some unspoken privileges that most didn''t talk about.


    Most would notice that Kael barely gave her any task. Most of the hunting Olivia did was because she wanted to, not because she was asked to hunt. She wasn''t given the responsibility of watching over any caste or patrolling over any area.


    Most of her daily activities involved just strolling around or lying under the sun. She didn''t really shift into her human form as much as the others because she didn''t see a need to. She had no reason to conserve her energy and her powers were more passive than active.


    If Olivia had any job, it was to stay alive. Very few knew that Olivia''s passive powers were one of the factors that kept letting the kingdom succeed in its ventures.


    She being alive and present was very crucial. There were some certain operations that Kael would ask her to go to, just so that she could rub her luck all over their forces.


    Olivia was aware of her importance, Kael was aware of her importance, and some others were also aware of her importance.


    But she doubted if it would remain like this forever. She could already feel the entity growing in her womb, just as a few other lionesses were feeling too.


    Kael would soon become a father, who is to say that one of his children won''t awaken a fortune lionheart and become a fortune lion.


    She had some understanding of the clan structure Kael wanted to build and knew that her position as his consort was safe. However, a time would come when Kael would have other fortune lions as subordinates.


    By then, her special role wouldn''t be so special. She could still remember when she and Kael were still cubs, Kael didn''t like to play and tended to be very serious about most things.


    She could understand now, right from time, perhaps Kael had always wanted to achieve all these things. Maybe that''s why he was always so serious back then, he simply had priorities.


    Olivia sighed as she continued walking, she wished that nighttime would arrive so that she could go and enjoy the warmth of Kael''s body.


    "Just listen to me, you just need to submit. The king has use for you but his tolerance is limited."


    Olivia raised her head when this unhidden telepathic message entered her mind. The sender of this telepathic message did not seem to have control over its direction.


    "I just want to get out and leave this place, why are you people so heartless? Just let me go."


    The telepathic message from another person, this one more controlled and directed still entered Olivia''s mind. She raised her eyebrows, these two were intentionally not hiding their conversation.


    In front of her, a few meters away was a little bear, no taller than a dog. He had pristine white fur that fluffed and covered his whole body, making him resemble a little polar bear.


    This was Kurse, the son of Kursela, the current leader of the Bear Priest Caste, and the youngest Tier 3 Olivia had ever known, all thanks to Kael.


    Kursela had been the one to stand in as Priest regent all this while, waiting for her son to grow into his position.


    According to Kael''s wish, her son, the Ice Bear was to be the leader of the Bear Priest Caste, and it was for a good reason.


    Kael wanted to create a myth around himself, one that inspired awe and also compelled other animals to believe that he and his lions were the rightful rulers of the world.


    For that, he needed propaganda and religion, just like it was done on Planet Earth. He needed these beasts to put down their resistances and have faith in him, blind faith.


    If this worked, a lot of creatures would gladly sacrifice themselves to him just to feed his belly. They would see it as an honor, something worth dying for.


    They would willingly call themselves his servants and pray to be used by him. They would send prayers, many of which Kael would never answer, but they wouldn''t stop because of the hope they would have.


    Maybe someday, he would answer their prayers. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was a marvelous system that would allow Kael to operate and control from a detached point. Kael had no idea if the religions on Earth had been true about their teachings or not, but that didn''t stop him from using their methods.


    However, the best way to spread this belief system was to believe in the belief system itself. Kael did not believe he was a god, he knew he wasn''t, and he was painfully aware of that.


    He could lie, but that wouldn''t last, he would eventually break composure. He needed someone he could groom from a young age into believing that he was indeed a god-like being.


    That was what came to Kael''s mind when he saw little Kurse for the first time. Kursela, Kurse''s mother was bad for the role, but she still has some resentment toward Kael.


    Little Kurse had spent time with Kael, oblivious to the fact that Kael had been molding his mind into the image he wanted.


    If before, Kael had merely been experimenting around with psychological manipulation with his lionesses, with Kurse he had gone all out.


    Everything was tried; love bombing, gaslighting, carrot and stick, triangulation, cold and hot, absence and presence, and a couple more. As many psychological techniques Kael could remember, he used it on the young and immature Kurse.


    Kael had even invested in increasing his power level, giving him some high-value meat and allowing Kurse to evolve.


    The result was a little ice bear, who had started seeing Kael as a distant parent who was never satisfied. It was a completely toxic relationship, yet it was working.


    To Kurse, Kael was a person who needed to be impressed, he HAD to be impressed. But for some reason, nothing ever moved that golden king. It seemed like Kael easily got disappointed and this really messed with the mind of the bear cub.


    Kurse could now barely go one hour without wondering if Kael was satisfied with him, he could barely go a day without wondering if Kael was disappointed in him.


    The strange thing was that Kurse felt that everyone should think the way he was thinking. He felt that everyone should strive to impress the king, disappointment was to be shunned.


    Kurse had even stopped talking with his mother because of this. Only his brother was still in his good book and that was because he was neutral about everything.


    Kursela could only watch as Kael completely molded Kurse and turned him into something else. She couldn''t do anything to stop it, she didn''t have the knowledge or techniques Kael was using so she did not know how to counter it.


    It was exactly what Kael wanted.


    This was why Kurse was currently in front of the first prison, doing what he was doing.


    "You¡­. How dare you say that the king is heartless. He has kept you alive all this while, you should be grateful." Kurse said as he growled, revealing his sharp fangs.


    "If you don''t take back your words, I''ll make sure you never get out of here alive," Kurse declared, to the surprise of Olivia who watched from the side.


    The being on the other side of the red barrier was a human-shaped figure. The goat horns on his head indicated that he was the same goat that had been captured by N''bay¨¦ three months ago.


    This goat man had gone from his regular body size to extremely skinny and malnourished.


    For a herbivore like him who was imprisoned by carnivores, it wasn''t surprising that he would become like this. When Kael gave the order to limit the food they were giving him, all of the wolves gladly obeyed.


    They didn''t see why they should go around looking for grass like those herbivores just because of a stubborn prisoner.


    "Okay okay, I''m sorry, I take it back," The goat man begged. His stubborn expression and defiant attitude were completely gone. Snot and tears decorated his skinny face and his body trembled from hunger.

 Chapter 155 155: Olivias Kurse

    KAEL''S PRIDE(Currently):


    Nalii: Vegetation(Veggie) Lionheart. Mother of Kael, Eidel, and Ruda. Half-sister to Priya and Diane, being slightly younger than Priya but older than Diane.


    Tends to be passive when it comes to violence unless necessary. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Katari: Space Lionheart. She''s not related to Kael in any way, although she was also born in the same pride and was mistaken as his half-sister. Psychopath extreme.


    Ruda: Electric Lionheart. Kael''s sister, sharing the same mother. Energetic and impulsive.


    Eidel: Fire Lionheart. also Kael''s sister, sharing the same mother. Aggressive and violent.


    Zabita: Metal Lionheart. Kael''s cousin, daughter of Priya, and Kael''s biological uncle. Appears lazy and nonchalant.


    Priya: Spirit Lionheart. Kael''s aunt and half-sister to Nalii and Diane, being the oldest of the three. Also the mother of Zabita. Very emotional but also intelligent.


    Diane: War Lionheart. Kael''s youngest aunt, and half-sister to Priya and Nalii. Currently childless. Simple-minded and quick to pick a fight.


    Olivia: Fortune Lionheart. Kael''s half-sister, same father, different mother. She''s quite jovial and friendly.


    N''bay¨¦: Magus Lionheart: Not related to Kael in any way, she is thought to be around the same age as Priya, yet looks far younger. Highly intelligent, logical, skeptical, cunning, and always making preparations.


    Extension(Clan):


    Burdo: Water Lionheart. Kael''s biological brother from the same mother and father. He''s isolated, greedy, and smart, but knows when to back down.


    ############


    "Okay okay, I''m sorry, I take it back," The goat man begged. His stubborn expression and defiant attitude were completely gone. Snot and tears decorated his skinny face and his body trembled from hunger.


    Little Kurse who stood in front of the red transparent barrier sighed and shook his head, "If only you had agreed sooner, Kael would have brought you closer and saved your soul."


    "Please!" The goat man pleaded. This was the most conversation he had this month. He was starving and his body was weak, it was like Kael had forgotten about him.


    "Sheesh, I''ve heard you alright. But you just have to be willing to do something for the king. His Majesty does not like helping liabilities. He may have been the one that put you here but that is because he sees some value in you. If not, the executioner wolves would be here to finish the job.


    Are you ready to work for the king?" Little Kurse asked, his childish innocence was mixed with his maddening desire to please Kael, making him appear more mature than he truly was.


    When the goat man heard Kurse''s suggestion, he collapsed to the ground on his knees. His instinct was telling him to reject the idea of submitting to Kael, it wanted him to continue being a stubborn goat to the very end.


    But as a high-level creature, the goat man also possessed common sense. With no room for reluctance, he noises his head to agree to Kurse''s suggestion.


    Little Kurse beamed a scary and innocent smile. He felt like a preacher who had just brought a lamb into the embrace of the one true god.


    All he had to do was introduce fear into the equation, just as Kael had conditioned him to do, and the lambs would come running to him like he was their figurative shepherd.


    "I''ll have to go back to talk with the King first. I have to let him know that you are now willing to cooperate." Little Kurse said with a devious smile on his face. The goat man couldn''t help but feel like he had fallen into a trap.


    But this was a trap that offered salvation and freedom, it was better than staying within this prison. "Thank you," He said.


    "No need to thank me," Little Kurse said as he turned away, ready to go look for Kael to tell him the ''good'' news, "Thank the King when he comes for you,"


    The way Little Kurse uttered his last sentence filled the goat man with an ominous feeling.


    "Oh, it''s Your Highness, Olivia," Kurse perked up as he caught a glimpse of the chubby lioness watching him from a close distance. He had heard footsteps but he had not paid any heed.


    If he had known it was Olivia, he would have just stopped his conversation with the goat man.


    Olivia smiled as she saw the little ice bear run toward her with an excited expression.


    "What are you doing here, Kurse?" Olivia asked, not wanting to make it look like she had been eavesdropping.


    "Oh, me," Kurse had an embarrassed smile on his face, if he could, he would blush. "I''m here to see who I can bring into the king''s fold."


    "Really?" Olivia asked with an eyebrow raised. She and Kurse began walking side by side, no particular direction in mind.


    Despite both of them technically possessing the same power level, Kurse was significantly weaker. This was because of his age.


    No matter how high his tier was, if he was still young, he would always be overpowered by adults of the same tier.


    One could even tell his weakness from his size. Bears were generally bigger than lions on a normal day, even if they had the same power level. But as they walked, anyone could see that Olivia towered over Kurse''s body, she was almost twice his height.


    Olivia, in her lioness form and on all fours, was already as tall as a short human. Kurse was just the size of a big dog.


    "Yes, I believe everyone should get a chance to come under the shadow of the king.


    Only if they reject salvation should we damn their souls." Kurse said in a matter-of-factly tone.


    "I see," Olivia nodded, not showing whether she agreed or disagreed. This subconscious act of Olivia seemed to itch Kurse''s mind, why didn''t she give him any validation?


    "You understand what I''m doing right? Will the King be satisfied?" Kurse asked hurriedly, his expression one of longing.


    Olivia was surprised by the question, she didn''t know that her short phrase would work the little one''s mind. She looked at Kurse with pity, Kael had truly broken his mind.


    Kael''s merciless and ruthless means always surprised her. But at the same time, she wasn''t a spirit lioness, her empathy was very limited.


    Kael''s decision and methods were the reason why she and her pride sisters could enjoy such lives of luxury.


    "Yes," Olivia said with a pretentious smile creeping up her chubby furry face, "I''m sure Kael would be proud of what you''ve been doing. But I think you should hurry up and tell him yourself.


    It would be bad if your good news was spoiled because someone gave him bad news at the same time."


    Kurse nodded his head as he contemplated Olivia''s words seriously. "Yes, you''re highness, you''re right. I better hurry up," he said.


    "You can go," Olivia chucked as the little white bear hurried off ahead of her.


    Unfortunately, fate just had a way of playing the most dirty jokes on everyone.


    The night had finally ended, and the horizon behind the mountain started to brighten with the light of the sun incoming.


    The nocturnal creatures began to adjust, crawling into their burrows to rest, but that would be far from them today.


    Just as the cool morning breeze was picking up and the fur of the creatures fluttered in the open¡­


    *BOOM!*


    Olivia stopped in her tracks as she heard a loud noise, like the sound of something being hit with heavy force.


    Her wide eyes stared into the distance to see a sight she couldn''t comprehend. "Is that¡­a paw made out of water?"


    Indeed, coming out of the trees was a large paw the size of a small boulder. This paw was wide, like a lion''s paw with curved sharp claws at the end of each digit.


    The massive water paw slammed into the ground, crushing the three wolves that were unfortunately in its way.


    Blood splattered and bones were crushed to sheets. The organs of the three wolves burst and mixed with condensed water, creating a gruesome scene.


    "KURSE! COME BACK NOW!" Olivia''s telepathic command rushed out with frightening force, forcing Kurse, who had been frozen in fear, to react immediately.


    He quickly turned around and ran to the fortune lioness. As if sensing this, the owner of the massive water paw rushed in the same direction.


    A thick beam of water rushed out from behind the trees like a water snake. At the front of this snake-like water beam was a blue-skinned humanoid with a cold expression.


    He used the rushing water beam to swim after Kurse over the land, closing the distance quickly. Kurse was still a child, he didn''t know how to use his powers properly, talk less of handling this situation.


    Seeing the approaching danger, Olivia instinctively let out a loud and terrifying roar, baring her long fangs and sinking her claws into the hard ground.


    An intense yellow light surged from her body, producing a low humming sound that echoed across half the mountain.


    The yellow aura pushed out of her body with unidentifiable might, causing the blue-skinned man to frown.


    "A fortune lioness?" He asked himself, frowning. This was bad, he had to speed up before the luck activated.


    He rushed harder, not only trying to catch up to Kurse but also intending to reach Olivia, she was a greater threat. However, just as he was a few meters away from them¡­


    *BOOM!*


    A feminine figure rushed from behind Olivia and slammed her body into the blue-skinned man.

 Chapter 156: Fist Against Water

    A few minutes ago, just before the light of the sun started creeping out of the horizon.


    Two humanoids were currently walking side by side, conversing with each other while they were guarded by five large wolves.


    These large wolves were a bit different from the regular tier 2 wolves. From their aura, they seemed stronger than the average tier 2 wolf but definitely weaker than a tier 3 wolf. They were at their peak, just a few resources away from evolving.


    These five wolves were deputies, the wolves that were second only to Commander Bibi. They served as the generals of the wolf army and as advisors to other high-rank caste leaders.


    Now, they walked in silence, escorting these two high-powered beings on their stroll.


    "We¡¯ve patrolled the east meadow, I think we should keep on expanding as fast as possible," One of the humanoids said as he turned his head slowly, scanning the surroundings.


    "Indeed, I would have preferred we expanded to the west, in the direction of the wolf plains. But the King has been against it because the elephants are in the way, it¡¯s dangerous." The second humanoid said as she also looked around.


    "Those long-nosed guys are indeed dangerous. Maybe direct violence isn¡¯t the way to approach them¡­"


    "Nonsense, the only reason we haven¡¯t gone to crush them is because they are stronger than us. It¡¯s very simple, don¡¯t make it sound complicated, Bibi..." Diane shook her head.


    "Well then, if we continue expanding to the west, we¡¯d be going in the direction of the end of the world. We would eventually reach the ¡¯sea¡¯, that¡¯s what the king calls it." The man referred to as Bibi responded.


    Diane nodded, "That has always been the plan, Burdo¡¯s usefulness diminishes every day."


    The two human-looking figures that were conversing telepathically were obviously Diane and Commander Bibi.


    It¡¯s been two months since they evolved to the next tier.


    Even in their humanoid forms, there were still a bit of differences even though they had the same powers.


    Commander Bibi was big if put in plain terms. He stood at a height of seven feet tall, his height as a wolf would definitely match that.


    His face was similar to Bibi III, his dead father, bearing some resemblance with the nose and jaw.


    His hair was a mix of grey and black, falling to his shoulders in a messy form. His eyes were a deep yellow decorated by a pure black pupil in their center.


    Commander Bibi had a wide and muscular neck that connected his head to his very muscular body. Every movement he made caused his muscles to bulge and his scars to look more menacing than they already were.


    Bibi looked like a hulking mass of suppressed strength.


    On the sides of his shabby head were two pointy ears that were grey. Behind him, attached to his waist was a fluffy wolf tail that swept from side to side. He might have a stoic expression but his tail couldn¡¯t hide how he felt.


    The conversation excited him, any talk of conflict and fighting excited him.


    Diane, who was beside him on the other hand, was a bit different. She was just as tall as Bibi, seven feet tall.


    Not just Commander Bibi, Diane was also the same height as Kael. She was effectively now the tallest lioness they had in the group.


    Apart from her height which made her look down on almost everyone, she was also muscular.


    Her muscles were not as pronounced as Bibi¡¯s. She had her abs, powerful thighs, strong calves, lean and athletic forearms, and straight back. Despite her leaner, feminine but muscular stature, she was still ripped.


    Diane looked like someone who had close to five percent body fat.


    Her face was beautiful, oval-shaped with a pointy jaw. Her deep brown hair was tied into a ponytail that fell to the middle of her back.


    She had thick eyebrows that cut to the sides of her face like miniature swords. Beneath those fierce eyebrows were a pair of the usual lion eyes, brownish-yellow iris with deep black pupils.


    She also had a long tail behind her and at the end of the tail was a tuft of fur that matched the color of her hair.


    "Anyways, not long ago, one of the Hawk Watchers came to make a report¡­" Commander Bibi said as he looked down, thinking about what the hawk had reported.


    "What is it?" Diane asked. They continued walking, heading to the south side of the mountain where the prison caves were.


    "He described something strange, he said he had been flying, watching over some fox merchants that had gone to make a deal at the borders.


    Nothing was wrong with Fox merchants though, nor their customers.


    But the Hawk said that just when they were rounding up, something big sped over from the distance and passed over him at a frightening speed.


    He couldn¡¯t describe it well but from what I got, it was a massive flying beast made of metal. The beast had no mouth or eyes yet it flew fast.


    Another detail he mentioned was that this beast had multiple magic runes etched on its body, different from the runes he had seen from N¡¯bay¨¦.


    Although it had passed over his head swiftly without causing any harm, the pressure the metal beast exuded was enough to force him to fly lower than usual.


    That flying metal beast had never been seen before," Commander Bibi summarized what he had been told.


    "At our borders? So far away, no wonder we did not notice it. Should this be marked as a threat?" Diane asked with furrowed brows.


    Commander Bibi¡¯s tail moved on its own, wagging at the sound of the word ¡¯threat¡¯. But he had to control himself and be reasonable.


    "We would need to collect more information, maybe send more Avian Intel agents to investigate where it came from and possibly where it was going.


    Although, the Hawk Watcher said that the metal beast was heading east, the same direction as the sea," Commander Bibi said.


    They had reached the back of the mountain where the prison caves were.


    Diane nodded, "Okay then¡­"


    *BAM!*


    Diane was cut off by a low tremor that spread through the ground. Looking ahead, a massive lion¡¯s paw made of water had just smashed three wolves into meat paste.


    Not too far from this scene was a little white-furred bear, Kurse, who stood frozen from fright.


    "KURSE! COME BACK NOW!" A telepathic wave surfed out like a mini tsunami from the lioness farther away from the ice bear.


    "Olivia?" Diane frowned, Olivia currently had her back to Diane and the rest so she did not see them.


    Diane¡¯s legs had already moved as her natural combat awareness allowed her to instantly sense the danger.


    Diane shot forward, cracking the earth beneath her feet and leaving Commander Bibi and the wolf escorts behind.


    As the white bear rushed back to meet Olivia, a thick stream of water rushed out from the cover of her trees, chasing after Kurse with unhidden hostile intent. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A loud roar escaped Olivia¡¯s throat and a bright yellow halo spread out from her body. This caused a slight change, the snake-like stream of water that was previously pursuing Kurse sped up, intending to overtake Kurse and reach Olivia first.


    Just before the stream hit Olivia, Diane who had managed to reach them in time rushed forward to slam her shoulder into the entity inside the stream.


    *BOOM!*


    A low booming sound spread from the collision of the two forces and the ground cracked under the pressure of Diane¡¯s legs trying to support herself.


    Olivia was happy to see Diane but not too much, she already expected that something or someone would save her, she was that confident in her luck.


    Diane didn¡¯t have time to think about all that though, she was busy using her left shoulder to push against the blue-skinned entity inside the water stream.


    From the corner of her eyes, she could see water whips with swirling pointy tips coming out of the steam and shooting at Kurse and Olivia.


    Registering the threat, Diane balled her right hand into a fist and the muscles on her whole arm bulged. The air seemed to vibrate under the sheer might of the rising fist.


    Without thinking too much, Diane threw the punch straight at the blue-skinned man inside the water stream.


    *BOOF!*


    The water stream exploded from the sudden influx of so much kinetic energy. The blue-skinned man was launched back like a ragdoll shot out of a cannon and the water whip fell to the ground, forming puddles.


    Diane found herself to be soaked, thankfully, she was naked as usual and only her hair was drenched.


    She looked behind her to see that Olivia and Kurse had already escaped to the protection of the five deputy wolves.


    Commander Bibi was currently walking toward her with his deep predatory eyes locked on the blue-skinned man who had landed on the ground, ending his locomotion with a roll.


    "Aaarrgh!" A deep howl of pain escaped the blue-skinned man¡¯s mouth as he touched his chest to feel the bruise and his broken ribs.


    Still, he sat up with a frown as he suppressed the agonizing feeling and looked Diane straight in the eye.


    "So, does he hide behind you too?"

 Chapter 157 157: Exploding Rat

    "Does he hide behind you too?" The blue-skinned man asked with a pained smile on his face.


    Diane was about to rush at him when four large rats rushed out from behind the trees.


    She stood there, her gaze filled with bewilderment as she had never seen such powerful rats before.


    The rats pranced around the blue-skinned man, guarding him while he slowly got up from the ground.


    He dusted his black wet clothes, coughing because of the broken ribs.


    "Who are you?" Diane asked. Commander Bibi arrived beside her, scanning the rats with a curious gaze. For anyone to be so bold as to attack Olivia in front of the mountain, that person should have extraordinary guts.


    The blue-skinned man chuckled, "I''m Wadolius, let''s not beat around the bush okay?


    I''m here for Kael, I understand that he''s your leader,"


    "What do you want with Kael?" Diane asked, taking a step forward.


    The rats growled fiercely, showing their two long and pointy teeth.


    "I just want to see him, surely, a lion doesn''t need to hide behind his consorts," Wadolius said as he also took a step forward.


    "The king is¡­busy," Commander Bibi said with his eyes narrowed to slits like Diane''s.


    "Oh," Wadolius shook his head with a sorry smile on his head, "Even a mutt can speak for a lion, no sense of culture!" He seemed genuinely vexed at this.


    He felt like his mind had been tainted by Bibi''s telepathic voice.


    "And you dare to call him ''king''?" Wadolius frowned. These people were clearly provoking him.


    "You dare attack one of the king''s consorts¡­" Diane''s expression was completely calm and cold. Her eyes were locked on her target and her body tensed like an arrow pulled to the limit on a bow. Her steps grew heavy and her breath shot out in low growls.


    Wadolius ignored her words, and water began to rise out of the ground, surrounding his moving figure.


    "So it''s true what he said. Well then, I''ll just have to force that disgrace on Lionhood to show himself!" Wadolius shouted, this time with his mouth instead of telepathy.


    Just as water surged from the ground and pushed him forward, Diane also launched herself, shooting at Wadolius with the intention of destroying him.


    The earth cracked with every step, unable to bear the weight of the power she was exerting. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They met in the middle, Diane threw a fierce punch and Wadolius responded with a spinning kick.


    Diane''s fist, which caused the air to tremble, shot forth, hitting Wadolius''s leg which was encased in water.


    Surprisingly, Diane was the one who was sent back. Her legs dug two fissures into the ground as she moved back and tried to stop herself from moving.


    "Naked savages, no training at all!" Wadolius was like a maniac, he rushed Diane again with his body surrounded by swirling water.


    Meanwhile, the four rats all lunged after Commander Bibi who had already rushed at them.


    Normally, Commander Bibi would be able to easily deal with these four dog-sized rats, that should have been the case. He should have made quick work of these oversized rodents, turning them into minced meat.


    Yet, Commander Bibi skidded to a sudden halt in front of the growling rats, his nose twitching as his senses were telling him to get out of the way. His innate ability to sense danger was clashing with his physical senses.


    He couldn''t see anything wrong with these rats. The aura they emitted was similar to a tier 2 wolf but that was it. But the innate combat awareness of a War Wolf edged his psyche, warning of the danger these rats possessed.


    It was confusing.


    He lowered his body slightly and had his arms outstretched. Long, black, and curved claws jutted out of his fingernails, their tips screaming with a scared level of sharpness.


    The rats looked at themselves, a mix of determination and uncertainty in their eyes.


    Two of the rats, one with electric blue fur and the other with pure black fur nodded to each other, displaying a saddening level of high intelligence. Their eyes were watery, but their minds were made. They could not go against their instincts.


    Bibi''s pupils shrank as he saw the two rats run at him with suicidal intent. His shrunken pupils dilated when he caught a glimpse of the rune tattoos on the back of the two rats.


    He didn''t have time to think, the blue rat with electricity surging around around it used its four legs to quickly close the distance between him and Commander Bibi.


    Commander Bibi''s ears perked and his muscles trembled. He raised his leg and kicked out with force.


    Like a moth to a flame, the electric rat ran straight at the raised foot, unable to change his trajectory in time.


    The sound of bones cracking echoed everywhere as the electric rat''s head hit the sole of Bibi''s foot.


    The rat had its mouth wide open, ready to deliver a nasty bite, only for its lower jaw to be brutally kicked back into its fleshy neck.


    The electric rat shot back faster than it came, producing a sickening crunching sound every time it bounced off the ground.


    But by the time the rat finally stopped being a ragdoll across the floor, it had left quite a lot of patches of wood on the ground. Its final form was a blue-furred rat with its limbs pointing in all the wrong directions.


    Its lower jaw had been smashed into its neck, making it look like it had only one jaw, the upper jaw. Blood spurted out of the injuries in little bits. The internal injuries were far more than the external injuries.


    Surprisingly, the limbs of the rat twitched and its black eyes moved around its eye socket, trying to express the agony it currently felt.


    To suffer such a fate and still be alive to feel the pain was worse than death. The electric rat could only look at its comrades or its blue-skinned master, hoping for one to come and relieve it of its pain.


    It couldn''t shout or cry, the vocal cords were damaged but the breathing tube was still intact, like it had been intentionally damaged in such a fashion.


    Yet, Commander Bibi had merely been precise in his attack, nothing much to it.


    Bibi eyed the second rat coming at him, this rat did not look back to check on its friend, it just rushed forward with suicidal intent.


    Commander Bibi did not wait for this one, he lunged at this black rat with his claws outstretched.


    At first, the rat could see the large humanoid standing in front of him. The next thing he knew, the large humanoid had his hand pierced into his chest.


    The black rat opened its eyes wide in shock, it had felt how everything happened and it was indeed shocking.


    His ribs were like dried leaves to Commander Bibi whose arm easily broke through and penetrated his lungs, coming out of his back.


    Commander Bibi''s muscular body was stained with crimson blood as he stared coldly into the eye of the dying rat.


    "Something isn''t right," He said to himself as he flexed his blood-drenched claws.


    The light of life quickly faded away from the rat''s eyes, causing a magical reaction from the rune tattoo on its back.


    Commander Bibi frowned, he felt the dead body of the rat rapidly heating up and quickly pulled his arm out of its chest.


    He had barely raised his leg to take a single step back when¡­


    *BOOM!*


    A huge explosion akin to the full power of a tier 3 wolf hit Commander Bibi like a rolling boulder. The force was too terrifying and sudden, he had no way to defend himself against it.


    Commander Bibi''s body shot back like a broken kite through the air until his body slammed into the side of the mountain close to the first prison cave.


    A sideways crater was formed with Commander Bibi''s body stuck inside. The few seconds of no movement indicated that he was unconscious and probably severely injured.


    Small pieces of rocks fell over the hole and dust rose into the sky, polluting the air.


    "What the¡­" The goat man who resided inside the first prison had his eyes wide open as he looked through the red barrier to see a glimpse of the fight.


    He had seen how that rat had exploded after being impaled by Commander Bibi and the force of that explosion hit the red barrier in front of him.


    He felt the whole prison shake after Bibi was blasted into the mountainside beside his prison.


    He didn''t know who to support in this fight, his captors or these new enemies. Because of his previous conversation with Kurse, his priorities were everywhere but here.


    Meanwhile, Diane jumped back to dodge a water whip that pierced into the ground where she was standing.


    Her hair blew to the side and the searing head hit the side of her face. She saw the explosion from the corner of her brownish-yellow eyes and could not help but look over.


    Unfortunately, this brief moment of distraction caused her to not see the incoming whip of water that lashed at her stomach.

 Chapter 158 158: From Above

    The water whip hit Diane square in her tummy, causing her to lose her balance and fall over.


    Luckily, she quickly reacted and used her powerful legs to push herself out of the way, dodging another set of powerful whips that hit the ground.


    After creating some distance, she looked to the side to see the shallow hole Commander Bibi was in. She could see his hands and legs hanging out on the edges with blood stains everywhere.


    She frowned, quickly trying to analyze what had happened.


    Wadolius did not intend to give her time though. He waved his hand, sending a fierce wave of water, two meters high, speeding toward the humanoid lioness.


    Diane stomped the ground and raised her arms to cover her face. Her body swelled as she activated the main ability of the war lions, the war state.


    The water wave hit her but had little effect in pushing her away. Rather, her body cut through it with nothing but brute force.


    By the time she put her arms down, she had completely transformed. Her muscles bulged, turning her into a hulk-like figure and giving her a height of close to ten feet.


    Her tied ponytail hair turned spikey, and its length grew, reaching her waist.


    At the meds of her arms and legs were long curved claws, black as obsidian and sharp enough to glint under the little sunlight.


    Her teeth grew longer, edging out of her lips slightly to give her a menacing look. All she had to do was move her lips slightly to reveal a row of razor-sharp jagged teeth.


    The blue-skinned man saw this and frowned. The water that mysteriously flowed around him condensed until it formed a protective ball of water around him.


    "It''s a pity. The two of you, help the others fish him out," Wadolius said while shaking his head. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His eyes widened as he hurriedly controlled the ball of water to move back, fortunately dodging a claw strike that was aimed at his neck.


    Diane''s body pierced into the protective water ball, encountering zero resistance. It wasn''t that she was too strong, Wadolius just heavily underestimated her.


    Water whips rushed at her, wrapping around her limbs and trying to pierce through her thick skin, all to no avail.


    Meanwhile, the remaining two rats that were still in great condition ran past Wadolius and Diane, intending to find their targets.


    Diane saw this and immediately rushed after them. She knew that something was wrong with these rats and had the intention of incapacitating them before anything happened. Unfortunately, Wadolius wasn''t going to let her go.


    "Be calm, let Kael come to save you," Wadolius said as he encased Diane''s hulking figure in water, covering her whole body and cutting off her supply to breathable air.


    Diane, feeling frustrated, concentrated all her strength in her legs and stomped down to the ground.


    The result was a mini earthquake, the force of the stomp blasted the water away.


    Even then, she still couldn''t get to the two running rats, and Wadolius kept her busy. With no other choice, Diane focused all her attention on Wadolius.


    She recognized the danger and wanted to get rid of it quickly. Instead of holding back due to pride, her body had already begun to transform, shifting her form into the true lioness she was.


    The earth easily gave away under her thick claws as she stood on all fours at a height of seven feet.


    Diane turned into a blur, lunging straight for Wadolius''s neck, much to the blue-skinned man''s fright.


    Meanwhile, while all this was happening, Chloe and Isaiah flew above the mountain, watching the fights happening.


    They saw Wadolius going toe to toe with Diane, eventually being forced into his lion form to balance the fight.


    They saw how Baba was tunneling through the ground, disrupting the animals and trees in his way and heading straight for the other side of the mountain.


    Rats swarmed from behind him, using his underground charge as cover to minimize their casualties and maximize their utility.


    There was panic and confusion, this sudden attack came with a tricky force. Many wondered why the birds had not alerted them of such incoming threats.


    Only Isaiah and Chloe could give an answer to that. After all, they had left a trail of bloody bird corpses behind them.


    "Where is he? I want to see him for myself," Chloe lightly commented on her humanoid form. Her massive black wings flapped slightly, causing the wind around them to darken and flow fiercely. She was itching to take action.


    "He should be around the corner," Isaiah said with seriousness. He was still in his bird form because he didn''t know how to maintain his humanoid form and have his wings like Chloe did.


    Isiah looked down, his green eyes scanning a wide area while he maintained a forcefield around himself. He could never be too careful when it came to Kael.


    "For a defective lion, this Kael seems to be quite capable," Chloe said as she observed the other creatures below. She could see how they escaped in groups, orderly and planned, as though they had practiced it before.


    Isaiah didn''t say anything to this, he knew that Kael was very capable and was very much not the lion he painted him as. Kael was no pushover, Chloe and her friends were in for a harsh surprise.


    But till then, he had to make sure they were taking the initiative. He didn''t care about being loyal to them, lions were lions, whether they came from heaven or not.


    All he wanted was revenge¡­ by any means necessary.


    The more Chloe observed the wolves and foxes, the more the frown on her face became more apparent.


    Hey didn''t act normal, they didn''t act¡­with freedom. They moved as though they expected something to happen.


    Yes, they panicked, but the pandemonium was limited. There was¡­order.


    As a lioness who had participated in a few subjugation exercises, she knew that for these creatures to possess this level of orderliness, there had to be a terrifying force behind them. A force that could act as protection and assurance, as well as deterrence and a fear factor.


    This orderliness could not be achieved without enforcing acts of cruelty. This was very contrary to the picture Isaiah painted of them.


    Weren''t they supposed to be predators that had some unspoken alliance with the lion, why did it seem like something else?


    Just when she was about to question Isaiah about her findings, the crane spoke up.


    "There he is!" Isaiah said, anxious to see Kael again.


    Kael appeared out of the corner with another humanoid female beside him. They were frowning, probably wondering what the source of the commotion was.


    *BOOM!*


    The sound of an explosion reached their ears, drawing their attention.


    One of the rats had been swarmed by the wolf warriors and had been ripped apart. However, once the rat breathed its last, its body exploded.


    The explosion covered a wide radius, instantly killing ten wolves and injuring many others.


    "We should get him before he realizes the danger we pose," Isaiah said hurriedly.


    He flapped his wings and twisted space around him. Leaning forward, he dived down, to the surprise of Chloe.


    "I''ll take the one beside him, finish him off quickly," Isaiah said, unaware that his sentence came out as though he was giving an order.


    Chloe frowned, her hazel eyes almost piercing into Isaiah''s falling body. She scoffed then flapped her wings too.


    Instantly, there was a loud boom as she shot down from the sky at shocking speeds.


    Kael and Priya were looking around, wondering where these rats had come from, when they heard a loud sonic boom from above.


    Within that same millisecond, Priya gasped and her body turned transparent like a ghost.


    Almost immediately, dozens of spatial blades passed through her intangible form and hit the mountainside behind her.


    "KAEL!" Priya''s telepathic shout burst out as she stretched her hand to touch Kael, but it was too late.


    *BOOM!*


    From above, a fist struck Kael on the right side of his face with so much force that the ground beneath him was completely decimated. Pieces of stones burst out of the ground, unable to bear the rising pressure.


    Kael''s head was forced down in the opposite direction and his knees were forcefully bent. His bare feet sank into the ground, leaving web-like cracks around his soles.


    The force pushing him down wasn''t pure physical strength, there was a fierce gust that raged against his body, trying to hammer him into the ground.


    Yet, this wasn''t enough. Despite his knees bending slightly, Kael remained standing.


    With the fist still connected to his face, Kael scowled. His body brimmed with power as he raised his head to look at his attacker.


    But the owner of the fist was not done¡­


    *BAM!*


    Just as the first fist retreated, another fist descended from the other side, striking Kael on his forehead, followed by a torrent of raging winds.


    This time, Kael was forced down and his kneecaps slammed into the ground.


    "KAEL!"

 Chapter 159 159: Clash Of Lions

    From the moment Chloe punched Kael, she could sense that something was wrong, something was deeply wrong.


    She was disturbed by how easily he shrugged off her first punch, only bending his knees slightly to redirect the excess force.


    Her second fist banged down on his forehead with greater force, pushing him down to his knees. She was fast, not giving him time to react to her sudden attack.


    But that was all¡­


    Her hand was raised for her third strike but it never came down. Isaiah''s surprise attack had failed and the woman standing beside Kael released a terrifying spiritual scream.


    Despite the terrifying headache and the strange visions, Chloe could still not move. Even the wind was frozen and her wings were stuck in one position.


    The only thing she could move was her sharp hazel eyes which stared down in terror as Kael slowly raised his head.


    As the golden haired man stood up, pieces of rocks levitated with him, as though trying to match his gravitational position.


    Kael raised his head up, his glowing golden eyes gazing straight into this lady''s eyes.


    Chloe felt a cold shiver run up her spine and her eyes dilated. This was not the glare of a weakling, this wasn''t the glare of a defective lion. No, Kael stared at her the same way the lion kings stared at their enemies.


    Unrestrained killing intent.


    The will to slaughter was thick and could be felt from Kael. Even though his golden eyes were calm, the depths of his mind were chilling.


    Chloe struggled to break free from the mysterious hold, not to continue fighting, but to escape.


    Yet, the space twisted around her body, locking her in place.


    "You eventually came," Kael said, his telepathic voice deep and penetrating. He casually glanced at her black wings, a light of interest momentarily flashing by.


    Kael was not mad, he wasn''t angry, he couldn''t be. He was very calm actually.


    He had expected these lions to meet him at some point, he just didn''t know how or when it would happen. Looking at her clothes, he could tell that she was related to the magic vessel that arrived in this world three months ago.


    However, just because he was calm didn''t mean he would tolerate such audacity.


    "Which god gave you the guts to touch me?" Kael asked, his golden eyes becoming more intense.


    He reached out to hold one of Chloe''s arms. He wrapped his big palm around her wrist, feeling the fabric of her grey long sleeve.


    Suddenly, Kael tightened his grip, instantly crushing her bones into small fragments. From the gaps in-between his fingers, blood flowed out.


    Chloe''s eyes were opened wide but she couldn''t scream or move. She could only cry in the confines of her mind.


    The pain seemed to send her into a maddening phase. The wind picked up and black wind blades started forming around the duo.


    Space began to crack, the forces of the world answered the call of Chloe and worked to shatter reality on her behalf¡­at least.


    The sound of glass shattering filled the area and with a flap of her powerful wings, the spatial hold was broken.


    A terrifying gust of black wind descended on them, blowing away the small pieces of rocks.


    Kael still had his hand wrapped around her wrist. Multiple bloody cuts had begun appearing on his body, each deeper than the last. If he didn''t act soon, he might be cut in half.


    "Kael," Priya who was beside Kael hurriedly touched his shoulder, effectively turning him into a semitransparent intangible form.


    This panicked action inevitably caused Chloe to rush out from the hold as her wrist easily passed through Kael''s suddenly intangible hand. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "ISAIAH!" She shouted at the top of her voice, her eyes clouded with rage. Every flap of her wings caused the air to howl like crying ghosts.


    But Isaiah was nowhere to be seen.


    Kael had a deep frown on his face, he couldn''t get angry at Priya, she was trying to protect him.


    A technique that allowed her to turn into an intangible spirit form, something she learned some time ago. She could also turn others intangible, provided that they had spirit related powers beforehand.


    A good ability, one Kael appreciated, not just at this moment.


    Without saying a word, he leaped into the sky, cracking the ground beneath him. Chloe stared coldly, sure that he wouldn''t be able to reach her altitude just by jumping alone.


    Kael proved her wrong. The look of shock in her eyes when flames burst out of Kael''s hand and feet was very clear.


    ''Chimera''s don''t do these things!'' She lamented in her mind.


    "Won''t you ask why we''re attacking you?" Chloe asked, exasperated. Her wrist was healing, albeit very slowly.


    "A lion needs not worry about the opinion of a sheep," Kael stated, plain and simple while shooting forward, like a flaming missile.


    "Humph, we''re both lions," Chloe spat back but her body shivered from fright. That simple statement was enough for her to know that they had been completely mistaken.


    This was not a defective lion who needed to be put down, this was royalty in its purest form.


    Isaiah had lied, this was very apparent now.


    ''Why did we even listen to that bird in the first place,'' Chloe lamented as she hurriedly conjured four black wind claws and sent them at the approaching Kael.


    However, Kael simply waved his hand, slapping away all the wind claws like they were flies. How was that even possible?


    At first, Chloe thought that Kael was a War Lion, given how strong he was physically. Then he exhibited control over space, something that was very rare, even in heaven.


    Now, he was shooting flames at her while she shot wind blades at him.


    She had never seen a lion like him, even his humanoid form was oppressive, and she was yet to see his true form.


    Those golden eyes, she could tell, he was studying her. Every feather, every blood drop, every expression she made, he was observing it.


    This was a trait she usually saw in Magus Lions like Xu Ying. She refused to believe that Kael also had the powers of a Magus Lion, she refused.


    The worst thing was that Chloe had the nagging feeling that Kael was not trying, that he wasn''t coming at her with his full power.


    She could sense it any time Kael got dangerously close, he wasn''t exactly suppressing his strength, but he wasn''t trying his hardest either.


    His aura was not of a tier 3 lion, but it also wasn''t of a tier 4. It was in between, a few more pushes and he would evolve to tier 4.


    This was horrifying, although Kael was not a tier 4, if he was indeed halfway there, then the gap between her and him was much.


    If Kael was truly a step away from tier 4 as she was guessing, then that meant he had been playing with her right from the start.


    He had been toying with her, observing, studying, learning, silently making a decision.


    This was supposed to be a simple mission, ''Fuck you Isaiah!'' Chloe groaned.


    Just then, she caught sight of the happenings down below while narrowly dodging a fireball.


    Down below, in the midst of the explosions, Baba was currently tunneling his way around the mountain. He was like a shark, prowling the waters for his next prey.


    Wherever he went, ridges would sprout to the surface above him, intercepting or even injuring whatever creature was in his way.


    Chloe realized that she wasn''t alone, she didn''t have to deal with this monster on her own.


    With her decision made, her body transformed and she became a massive lioness with encompassing wings, black fur and feathers, and her full strength.


    Her clothes disappeared mysteriously, looking like they had sunk into her body.


    Kael''s eyes narrowed dangerously, as if warning Chloe of her next choice.


    Chloe flapped her wings, causing a low booming sound to echo out as she instantly arrived in front of Kael. She slammed her whole lion body into him, pushing him downward.


    At first it was a push, then it became a fall. Chloe felt her shoulders grow numb after slamming her body into Kael''s.


    The burst of flames Kael was producing wasn''t enough to resist the sudden hit so he spiralled down with the Air Lioness.


    Just when they were about to hit the ground, Chloe spread her wings again, stopping herself from falling.


    Meanwhile, the ground burst apart as Baba, in his lion form, jumped out of the ground and lunged after the falling Kael.


    Baba clamped his jaws around Kael''s shoulders before diving down into the earth again.


    Feeling that Kael was already initiating his own transformation, Baba pushed through the ground with Kael''s body in front of him acting like a shield.


    Baba''s four front limbs moved rapidly, tearing out the rocks around them and giving the earth lion room to move fast.


    Eventually, Baba and Kael burst out of the ground again, this time Kael had completely transformed into a golden lion that towered over Baba.


    Baba licked his lips, he felt like he had just bit a statue made of iron. His teeth didn''t even get past the fur, talk less of drawing blood.


    Baba panicked, seeing this strange form and noticing the lack of injuries. He rushed Kael again, slamming into him.


    Kael, starting to get frustrated with this guy, dug his golden claws into Baba''s shoulder.


    Baba roared in pain as the sharp claws pierced into his flesh and scrapped his bones.


    The both of them hit the mountainside with a loud boom. They smashed through the rocks, crushing their way deep into the mountain with Kael''s body taking most of the blunt force.


    As the two were tunneling through the mountain, space twisted on the opposite side.


    Katari teleported out of nowhere, looking at all the commotion with a cold, indifferent expression.


    "Hmm¡­"

 Chapter 160 160: What A Coincidence

    *BOOM!*


    An explosion went off beside her, sweeping her black hair forward as she stood against the searing heat.


    She turned her head slightly to see the mangled corpses of wolves amidst the cloud of dust.


    She leaned her body to the side, dodging pieces of stones that were about to hit her.


    *SCREEEEECH!*


    The crazed sound 9f a rat screaming reached her twitching ears from the right.


    One of the rats was running toward her with saliva dripping from its mouth. It ran on all fours, looking like a slightly smaller ordinary wolf.


    It was fast, Katari admitted in her mind, but it was nowhere near what she was used to.


    She raised her hand to the rat, just as the rat leaped off the ground and lunged at her.


    With a grabbing motion from Katari, the rat froze in the air, its limbs spread apart, still ready to attack her.


    Katari glared at the suspended rat, eyeing every part of its body, wondering what gave this creature such guts.


    Did it not know the meaning of fear? This was a genuine question she asked herself in her mind.


    Then she clenched her hand into a fist.


    The rat''s body was instantly crushed into a ball of flesh and bones. Blood vessels burst and bones were shattered beyond recognition.


    The former rat, now a ball of flesh and bones hung in the air, even the blood that should have dropped to the floor could only stick to the ball.


    The rat itself died instantly as its head was flattened to a fine red sheet, and with that, its brain was also mushed and distributed all over the ball.


    Katari performed this brutal act with ease, curving her finger to rotate the ball.


    However, the instant the rat died, another reaction took place. A rune that has surprisingly remained intact glowed brightly before causing the whole body of the rat to detonate.


    *BOOF!*


    Katari frowned as she put her other hand forward to hold her ball in place.


    She pressed on as the explosive force threatened to escape her hold. The ball of flesh and bones was completely disintegrated and all that was left was a swirling mass of fiery unstable energy.


    The spatial barrier holding it in place struggled to hold on tight, the air vibrated fiercely.


    The sound of glass cracking reached the ears of the onlookers.


    Eventually, the violent mass of fiery unstable energy began to fade away, Katari had successfully contained an explosion.


    As soon as she put her hands down, the searing heat hit her but there was no damage, the threat was gone.


    Suddenly, Katari disappeared, teleporting a few meters away. Where she had previously been standing, a small fissure had appeared.


    "I thought I heard a familiar name. Isaiah, it''s you isn''t it," Katari said lightly, her telepathic voice was calm.


    Space cracked as a large crane appeared in front of her and landed on the ground.


    Isaiah.


    Previously, she had heard someone scream Isaiah''s name, she didn''t expect it to be the same Isaiah that had been on her mind for some time.


    "Katari, I was half expecting you to be decapitated by now. Oh well, I''ll do it myself." Isaiah said nonchalantly, his green eyes scanned Katari from head to toe.


    "Hmm, what a coincidence, I was thinking the same thing," Katari responded.


    As soon as her sentence ended, both of them disappeared from their positions.


    Dozens of clanking sounds resounded everywhere, yet the sources of the sounds could not be seen.


    Every clash seems to send them into an artificial pocket space, momentarily making them invisible to the common eye.


    The more Isaiah fought her, the more frustrated he became, "You''ve become stronger, more skilled, impressive!" He spat.


    With a wave of his wings, a wide spatial blade shot straight for Katari''s neck. Instead of dodging, Katari extended her hand to catch the invisible blade.


    Isaiah watched with wide eyes as Katari spun around, redirecting the blade and sending it back to him.


    The blade clashed with the spatial barrier surrounding him, leaving some cracks before disappearing.


    "I should have killed you the moment I had the chance!" Isaiah screamed, his senses being clouded by rage. He flapped his wings, shooting himself at Katari.


    Katari smiled at his words, "Another coincidence, I was also thinking about that too."


    What was most infuriating for Isaiah was that Katari was clearly at a disadvantage, yet she refused to fight in her lioness form. It was as if she was confident in taking care of him with only one-third of her power.


    Isaiah released a furious cry, spreading his wings and sending spatial blades in every direction.


    Katari constantly teleported out of the way, every time she disappeared, she reappeared with a harder frown on her face.


    Just then, a furious roar came from the sky. Katari looked up to see a furious winged lioness speeding toward them from afar.


    Although she was far away, the lionesses quickly arrived above them.


    Chloe, who had been looking for Isaiah had heard his cry and instantly chased after it.


    Isaiah, seeing Chloe, already knew what happened. After all, she had a brief exchange with Kael just now, everything that transpired was different from what he had told them.


    "Chloe, that''s the most dangerous one of them all. If we take care of her, Kael would be weakened. Let''s join forces to put her down," Isaiah said decisively, making sure that his telepathic voice was heard by Katari.


    Katari''s face remained calm but her eyes grew colder at the mention of Kael. She tilted her head to the side as she gazed at Chloe strangely.


    Chloe glanced at Katari, noticing the sudden spatial twists that were starting to appear around her.


    Then she glanced at Isaiah, anger evident on her face.


    Isaiah ignored her, glad that everything was going according to plan. Kael was far stronger than he expected, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t achieve anything.


    *BAM!*


    A paw smacked Chloe''s face out of nowhere, sending her to the ground. The attack was too sudden and too powerful.


    Chloe crashed to the ground, forming a small crater. She was disoriented, but her instincts screamed at her to escape quickly.


    She flapped her wings, forming a powerful gust of wind that pushed her away from the ground and back into the sky.


    The small crater she formed exploded just as she left, leaving nothing but a large lioness with lustrous fur, staring at her menacingly.


    Chloe blinked once, and the lioness was gone, vanished.


    The Air Lioness looked up instinctively to see Katari appear above her with one of her paws in a swiping motion.


    Chloe tucked her wings in and performed a spin in the air, dodging two of the three claw strikes.


    Unfortunately, the third spatial claw hit her left wing, shaving off a few large feathers and drawing blood.


    "Isaiah, help me!" Chloe commanded. But Isaiah was nowhere to be seen, he had vanished from the battle scene.


    Katari also noticed that Isaiah was absent which disturbed her a lot. Such a threat shouldn''t be left alive, especially not now.


    Katari teleported to the ground, her claws still bared and ready to tear all in her path.


    As if by calculation, Chloe fell to the ground in front of her, bringing up a cloud of dust that didn''t bother Katari at all.


    Chloe stood up to look at this Space Lioness, the way Katari looked at her was very disturbing and made her feel way too close to death than usual.


    She could feel that one of her wings was damaged. She could still fly but would have to suffer excruciating pain.


    "You wish to kill Kael?" Katari asked Chloe. Katari was smart enough to notice that something was wrong.


    To her, it seemed like Chloe was angry with Isaiah, which shouldn''t be so, weren''t they on the same side? S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Katari had simply wanted to prevent her from escaping to be sure. If not, that claw would have struck Chloe''s neck.


    As for whether that attack would have been effective was yet to be known.


    "No, not anymore," Chloe said truthfully while trying to catch her breath. "Everything was orchestrated by Isaiah, we were tricked."


    "Hmm," Katari listened but didn''t believe anything she heard.


    It was at this time that the booming sounds coming from within the mountain grew louder. The earth trembled as something smashed its way through the insides of the mountain.


    *BOOM!*


    With a thunderous boom, rocks and vines were blasted away from one side of the mountain.


    A massive lion burst out of the mountain, roaring in pain as he curved through the air. The lion fell to the ground and rolled, leaving small cracks on the floor.


    Low thumping sounds echoed from the huge dusty hole that had just been formed inside the mountain.


    Baba, the lion who had been blasted out of the mountain, looked up with a look of terror.


    "W-what¡­" He tried to talk but ended up coughing up blood, his internal injuries were serious.


    As he stood up, he felt the emptiness coming from his shoulder. To his horror, one of his front limbs had been cleanly ripped off.


    Baba, who was supposed to have four front limbs now had three only. It was only now that he was registering his situation, the pain flooded his mind like a storm.


    Yet, amidst his loud roar, a massive golden lion calmly walked out of the swirling dust.


    Majestic.


    Blood dripped from the lion limb that was clamped in between his jaws. Baba could only watch as Kael walked towards him with his front limb in the golden lion''s mouth.


    "Wait!"

 Chapter 161 161: Blood Throat

    Kael walked with elegance out of the wide hole that had been formed through the mountain. His golden fur and dark gold mane scattered from the wind, adding to his dominating presence.


    In his mouth was one of the limbs of this supposed earth lion in front of him, dripping with blood and leaving a red trail on the ground.


    As Kael got closer to the fallen lion, he thought to himself, ''That was a cool move though, smashing me through the mountain.


    I bet it looked cool from someone else''s perspective.''


    Kael was genuine in his praise, even though he kept silent. His back aches slightly from having been hit repeatedly with hard jagged rocks. Luckily, his body was tough and he only suffered scratches and sore muscles.


    Compared to his situation, Baba was not looking too well.


    Halfway through the mountain, the whole situation had turned upside down. He realized too late that he was not as strong as Kael, way too late.


    He was already in the middle 8f the mountain when Kael had begun ripping his limbs off, causing him excruciating pain.


    Vines shot out of hw walls, whipping his body and leaving red marks underneath his fur.


    By the time they burst out of the other side of the mountain, Baba was the one with serious injuries and missing one limb.


    Baba struggled to his feet, taking multiple steps back to keep his distance away from Kael.


    "You''re¡­golden," Baba muttered. He ignored the pain from his side where his limb used to be.


    "Indeed, I am," Kael answered telepathically, his deep voice unsettling to Baba.


    "Wait, there seems to be a misunderstanding¡­" Baba started.


    Kael released his jaws, dropping the lion''s forearm to the ground with a low thud. He stepped over the fallen limb, continuing his walk toward Baba.


    "I can see that, but you didn''t bother to check. You attacked without asking questions," Kael said. As he got closer, he seemed to become more tyrannical in Baba''s eyes.


    The last person he had seen with this disposition was his grandfather who was a lion king, someone he had only met once in his life.


    "That''s because we were told to do so by that bird, we were afraid you would cower and escape!" Baba tried to explain.


    Kael paused his steps, much to the delight of the earth lion, "I''m guessing that bird is Isaiah, your winged friend mentioned him," He said.


    Baba nodded his head as his fluffy dark mane shook with every movement, "Yes Yes Yes, I think Isaiah tricked us¡­"


    "What trick?" Kael commanded an answer, one that struck the ego of a lion such as Baba, still he answered.


    "Isaiah told us that you were¡­defective, not like us. That you were weak-willed, easily compromising. And most of all, you did not have any ability to conquer or instill your authority. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Very much not how a lion behaved, it''s not our culture. We lions have a tradition of reeducating lions who steer astray from the culture.


    We thought we could do the same for you, and if you were too far from the lion way, we would just kill you."


    "But¡­" Kael continued for him.


    "But¡­you''re not what Isaiah claimed you are. You are clearly befitting of the lion culture, perhaps above average," Baba was decisive, throwing in a praise at the end.


    "The lion culture? Such a term¡­" Kael muttered with a gentle smile, although his eyes remained cold.


    "If that is so, then you should know what lions like me do to lions like you." Kael said as he continued walking forward again.


    Baba gulped, feeling the surroundings getting hotter and the pressure getting heavier.


    "You challenged a King¡­" Kael said while shaking his head as if he truly pitied Baba, "Don''t resist, if not your death will be painful."


    Baba''s eyes widened with terror as he felt Kael release his aura. An earthen wall sprung out of the ground in front of him, in hopes of blocking whatever was coming.


    Instantly, the top half of the earth wall was shaved off as a massive golden paw swiped over Baba''s head.


    "Show mercy!" Baba screamed as loudly as his telepathic voice could allow. Even as he begged, the ground beneath him moved according to his will.


    The earth moved his form away, making some distance between him and the golden lion.


    At the same time, multiple rocks shot out of the ground, shooting straight for Kael.


    Unfortunately, most of the rocks simply bounced off his body. The combined physical might of a War Lion as well as the support of other power augmentation made him nigh invulnerable to casual tier 3 attacks.


    Baba knew this, Kael''s mildly damaged body despite being smashed through a mountain was enough evidence.


    However, Baba also hoped to capitalize on this. As a lion, he knew that the most common error among his kind was overconfidence, a feeling that came very easily to lions.


    And it worked.


    Kael had not bothered to put up any external defenses, causing a stone pillar to shoot up from under his head, hitting him square in the jaw.


    The stone pillar shattered upon making contact with his strong skin as well as his metallic jaw. Yet the force was enough to lift Kael''s front paws slightly off the ground.


    Kael squinted his eyes, suppressing the pain he felt. He looked around to see that Baba was nowhere to be found.


    There was a small tremor from the ground and he knew that Baba had probably escaped using subterranean means.


    Kael scoffed, he was starting to get serious.


    His golden claws leaked out of their furry cracks, shimmering with ungodly sharpness. His two paws were ignited, being covered in hot orange flames.


    At the same time, space twisted around him and two magical runes appeared on his shoulders, boosting his strength by a significant margin.


    Kael rose to stand on his two hind legs, raising his two front paws up while charging them up with power.


    Then he fell, channeling all his weight and energy into his front paws, slamming them heavily on the ground.


    The ground was unable to withstand such massive input of power and caved in, forming cracks that continued to spread and caused a mini earthquake.


    Hot flames spread through the cracks like a snake searching for prey. The rocks quickly began to melt and the situation worsened with the spatial storm that had started tearing through the earth.


    Baba, who was about to make it away from the mountain area, was flabbergasted. What was this? Was this still something a tier 3 could do?


    He could feel fire, twisting space, the familiar aura of magic, and many more. This shouldn''t be possible at all, not by any lion logic.


    ''Unless¡­''


    Baba did not have time to think of his theory as a spatial wave hit him underground, followed by another wave of fire.


    Baba had no choice but to surface. And as soon as he reared his head out of the ground Kael appeared above him with his maw wide open.


    Those golden fangs descended swiftly, piercing into Baba''s neck despite the mane protecting him.


    Baba roared, but his roar was cut short as he felt the sharp teeth piercing deeper into his throat. He could feel it, Kael could effortlessly crush his neck.


    "Baba!" Chloe shouted from the side. She had been watching all this with Katari keeping a close eye on her.


    She wanted to move but every slight movement from her was followed with Katari making slight movements too. If she truly dared to move, Katari would do so too.


    "This is a misunderstanding!" Chloe said, pleading. She didn''t exactly care about Baba in any close way, just that he was a familiar face in an unfamiliar place.


    "We know¡­," That was all Katari said before her attention was drawn to something above.


    She looked up to see massive cracks descending from the sky and Isaiah the crane was in the middle of it all.


    Katari calculated, she didn''t expect Isaiah to possess this level of power. And from his trajectory, Isaiah was aiming for Kael.


    The speed Isaiah was coming down with was too much, suicidal even.


    "HAHAHA, DIE! FOR DARIUS!" Isaiah''s crazed laughter reached their ears, he spoke in that same foreign language. Isaiah had gone mad.


    He was so close to getting what he wanted.


    ''Darius, this is it,'' He spoke to himself as his eyes darted between Katari and Kael.


    Kael sensed the approaching danger from above him and blueish-gold magic barriers started forming around him in retaliation. At the same time, a separate layer of condensed space formed over the magic barrier.


    With all this, his jaws remained clamped around Baba''s neck.


    Katari looked on, sure that this attack from Isaiah would not be able to do much harm to Kael. Yet, she teleported almost instinctively.


    If she didn''t see such danger coming toward Kael, it would have been a different thing. But now that she could see it, her body moved on its own to eliminate the threat.


    However, something went wrong. As soon as Katari teleported, Isaiah also disappeared along with his descending storm.


    There was a moment of silence, before both Katari and Isaiah appeared in front of Kael''s large golden body.


    A look of elation filled Isaiah''s eyes as he gazed at the Space Lioness who looked at him in shock.


    A thin red line appeared under Katari''s neck, a line that caused Kael''s heart to beat with fear.


    Without warning, blood spewed profusely out of the slit on Katari''s neck.

 Chapter 162 162: Claw To Claw

    Ice spread over the ground, forming a thin layer of frost. Wherever Ken ran, a trail of frost would be left which would spread out to cover his surroundings.


    Ken ran on his two legs in his humanoid form, trying to make it to Diane. His four white fluffy tails bounced fantastically behind him, waving a stream of cold air to the sides.


    There was a short screech, one rat rushed at him from his left side, jumping from one of the boulders that were lying at the mountain foot.


    Ken''s blue eyes narrowed dangerously, coldness evident within them. He swung his arm sharply to the right, causing layers of ice walls to rise and lean toward the incoming rat.


    As the jagged edges of the ice wall cut into the abdomen of the mad rat, its body swelled beyond proportion before exploding.


    The layers of ice walls shattered like brittle card walls, sending shards in all directions. But Ken did not stay behind to appreciate this, he was gone and his ice trail led to the ongoing fight between Diane and Wadolius.


    Meanwhile, Wadolius had a deep frown on his face, a frown that came about after a painful realization.


    Things were not what they were made out to be, he could sense that something was deeply wrong. He just didn''t know how to identify it.


    He could hear the sound of booms in the sky and the area not far from where he was. At the end of the mountainside, beyond where his eyes could see, a battle must be happening there.


    Water flowed beneath his paws, moving him aside and allowing him to dodge the claw swipe to his face.


    He retaliated with his own slap, one that surprisingly connected with Diane''s face. Yet, apart from the few strands of fur that fell, Diane''s face remained mostly unharmed.


    Water whips surged out from around, wrapping around the War Lioness''s limbs but she always managed to break through.


    Wadolius wasn''t trying his hardest, he knew that he could push this fight to a more deadly stage, he could become faster and deliver more lethal attacks, but he didn''t.


    He needed room to escape, just in case.


    The Water Lion and the War Lioness continued going back and forth, exchanging blows and claw marks.


    Some claw marks managed to land, some didn''t.


    Wadolius coated his right paw with water, condensing it while making it flow at high intensity. Four water claws extended out of his paw as he swung it at Diane.


    The water claws hit Diane''s shoulder, this time actually doing damage. Blood spilled as four claw marks appeared on her shoulder.


    There were already a few scars on Diane''s body, but this new one didn''t disturb her or affect her concentration.


    Commander Bibi, who had been blasted into the mountainside by the exploding rat, was starting to steer awake. His clawed fingers twitched and his eyelids flipped open to reveal dark yellow eyes.


    "Ugh," A groan escaped his lips as he felt the pain that seeped into his bones. His eyes observed that he was currently lodged in a hole.


    He looked down to see blood and burnt flesh on his chest. The pain he got from breathing indicated that he had a few broken ribs.


    One of his arms, the one which he had used to pierce the rat and had hurriedly pulled out, was damaged and unrecognizable.


    The bones, white and strong, remained intact, but the skin hung loosely and the muscles wrapped underneath in bits and pieces.


    He used his good arm to pull himself out of the hole, peaking out and letting the sounds of battle reach his ears.


    He saw Wadolius battling with Diane, his eyes struggling for some time to catch up to their speed but he eventually managed himself. His eyes darted left to right, keeping up with their movements while he tried to get up from the ground.


    He wanted to join the fight, but he doubted he would be of much help. It was a bit shameful, the Commander of the wolf warriors, taken out before the fight had even begun.


    "Stay down Commander, I''m here!" A telepathic voice came like the hymn of an angel. Bibi looked to his right to see a slim handsome humanoid running toward them.


    Four white fluffy tails, two pointy white ears, matching white hair, and bright blue eyes to complement. It was Ken, the second authority of the Fox Merchants.


    Ken ran at the full speed his humanoid form could allow, speeding up when he saw the ongoing exchange between Diane and the stranger.


    He barely glanced at Bibi''s injured figure before focusing back on the needful.


    When he was close enough, Ken crouched to the ground before leaping into the air. A pillar of ice rose beneath him, pushing him further into the sky.


    From his high position, Ken rapidly slashed his palms at Wadolius, sending down a multitude of ice blades.


    Wadolius, who was still tangling with Diane, felt approaching cold and heard the sound of sharp objects whizzing through the air.


    Contrary to Ken''s gentle and cunning disposition, he was terrifyingly fierce when it was needed. Three of his blades pierced into Wadolius''s side, although the damage wasn''t deep.


    At the same time, Ken began to transform while he was still in the air. By the time he landed, he had already become a large fox. Wasting no time, he launched himself at the Water Lion.


    Wadolius was just registering the creeping frost that was spreading over his scales from his injuries when he was tackled to the ground by a white furry creature. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "A fox?" He spoke in his foreign language, confusion in his eyes.


    He swung his paw, slapping Ken away like he was a lion cub. However, Ken left him with two frozen claw marks on his chest.


    Wadolius was just getting up when Diane jumped on his back, using the opportunity to sink her extra-long fangs into his shoulder blades.


    Wadolius roared angrily, causing a swirling mass of water to overwhelm the both of them. Diane could hold her breath, but she could not hold on to the strong current flowing within the water dome.


    She was flushed out and Wadolius was left inside the water dome, staring at her menacingly with his faintly glowing azure eyes.


    Suddenly, the whole swirling water dome with Wadolius inside it froze over. It was instantly turned into an ice dome, transparent and entrapping its previous wielder.


    Ken had his tails pressed in the water dome, trying to maintain the coldness. He could feel the ice being liquefied as Wadolius tried to get out.


    Unfortunately, Wadolius''s desire to break out was stronger than Ken''s desire to keep him in.


    A part of the dome rapidly melted, turning to room-temperature water. A long water whip with a sharp tip shot out of this melted part, aiming straight for Ken''s head.


    Ken jumped back, dodging the piercing tendril but losing connection with the ice dome. The result was immediate, the ice dome melted to reveal Wadolius staring at them with a mix of caution and rage.


    He stood between Diane and Ken, wondering what his fate would be if these two had been trained in heaven. Their attacks were purely primal and instinctive, allowing him to use his advantage in superior combat training.


    Almost at the same time, both Ken and Diane lunged at him, teeth bared and claws out.


    Commander Bibi watched with rapt attention.


    Wadolius was truly incredible, unlike Chloe or Baba whose background was less impressive. Being the nephew of the King in his clan, his experience was better.


    He actually managed to go claw to cake with both the War Lioness and the Ice Fox. Although he was at a disadvantage, it couldn''t be denied that he was holding up.


    As a male lion, naturally stronger than most lionesses, this was reasonable.


    All he needed was room to escape¡­


    "That''s enough!" Priya''s voice suddenly sounded in everyone''s head.


    Wadolius paused his movement, suddenly burdened by visions of a woman with grey hair and a stern face. For a moment, he didn''t know where he was or who he was.


    Just when he was about to be lost in this trance-like state, pain shot through his body from his paws.


    His eyes cleared and he saw that his four limbs had been pierced by long ice shards. The lack of defenses allowed them to easily penetrate his flesh, rendering him crippled.


    He roared, trying to suppress the pain and command his legs to work. He had barely moved when Fine jumped on him again.


    This time, she didn''t make any mistake, going straight for his spine. She first ripped out his dorsal fin, surprised at how rubbery it felt.


    Water had already begun to surge upward, again l, threatening to submerge Diane. But Diane was faster, she sank her saber-like teeth into Wadolius''s back.


    Wadolius was a Water Lion, having no mane and therefore no protection from these types of attacks.


    In one fluid motion, Diane pulled her head back, ripping out a long piece of Wadolius''s spine that was still connected to his back.


    Wadolius felt a sharp pain before his vision went dark and he lost consciousness.


    Diane let go of the bloody spine after she was sure that Wadolius was no longer a threat. At the same time, she wondered why Priya''s voice had sounded so urgent.


    What happened?

 Chapter 163 163: My Revenge!

    Priya had a deep frown on her face, she didn''t expect her morning to start this way.


    Seeing her pride sister suddenly appear with a slit around her throat sent Priya into a precarious state of mind. What trickery was this?


    "That''s enough!" She screamed with her telepathic voice while spreading her spirit energy to encompass a quarter of the mountain.


    Her sudden spirit outburst sent everyone except Kael into a dazed state for a moment, with the enemies seemingly sinking into a trance-like state.


    The rats that remained, fifteen of them, suddenly stopped in their tracks, frozen and trapped in their own minds.


    One of the rats, a spirit rat, twitched uncontrollably as it tried to escape its hypnotized state.


    The wolves surrounded it, cautious not to get too close. This was an enemy they didn''t know how to deal with.


    They had the numbers needed to submerge this rat in a torrent of claws and fangs, yet they could only stay back.


    They had learned that every rat that died would result in a really devastating explosion, a lesson that cost the lives of their comrades.


    Now, watching one of these dangerous rats twitch uncontrollably as it tried to resist mind control, they didn''t know what to do.


    Then, before their very eyes, the rat started clawing at its belly, opening wounds and rubbing itself in its own blood.


    The wolves looked at themselves, confused. They were finding 8t hard to determine whether the rat was running mad or was just trying to kill itself.


    Still, they dated not getting close, rather they took multiple steps back.


    The rat clawed and clawed until its belly was cut open and its intestines began to spill out. Only then did a sense of clarity finally come back to it.


    However, this sense of clarity was different, the desire to be a Martyr for its masters was gone. All it had in its eyes was sorrow, pain, and longing.


    It stared at the wolves with a mix of anger and appreciation. It was weird how two opposing emotions could exist at the same time in one mind.


    The rat looked down at herself, seeing her guts spilling out of her belly, and sighed. She knew her death was close, very close. But it was a release from this life of slavery she had been born into.


    Even now, knowing that she would soon be free, her body tensed up as if fearing that her masters would read her mind wherever they were.


    The instinct to serve the lions was one that had been hammered into her until it was her second nature. She would not be able to go against it, no one could go against it, but she could be free.


    She pitied these wolves because she knew her death would be followed by the detonation of the rune on her back. At the same time, she felt it was justified.


    Any creature that found themselves in the center of lion conflict would meet the same grim fate.


    It didn''t matter which lion they were fighting for, what mattered was that they were fighting a lion in the name of another lion. Their fates were sealed, just as it has always been for millions of years.


    She scoffed at them, they were no better than her, she thought so. If possible, she would want to see the day the true madness of the lion race descended on his world, the day these savages would learn the sheer ridiculousness they had walked into, but that wish could never be granted.


    Just in time to relieve her of her pain, darkness overwhelmed her as she fell unconscious.


    The sight of the rat falling to the ground caused the wolves to panic and scurry away.


    Shortly after, an explosion that covered a wide area occurred, sending out a wave of heat. Luckily, the wolves had learned their lesson, no one was hurt.


    This meant that out of the original twenty-five slave rats that had come to the mountain, only fourteen remained.


    These fourteen slave rats, scattered around the mountain foot, had all fallen into a dazed state, unaware of their mindlessness.


    "Rest," Priya commanded, her voice seeming to echo across dimensions, sounding like an order to the universe itself.


    Immediately, the fourteen slave rats collapsed to the ground, much to the surprise of their antagonizers.


    They all closed their eyes to sleep, unaware that they would now be sharing the same dream.


    While she was doing all this, Priya had her eyes locked on Katari, Isaiah, and Kael. She was unable to make sense of what she was seeing.


    How was this possible?


    Katari stared wide-eyed at Isaiah as blood began to spill out of the slit on her throat.


    "Hehehe! You will know how it feels to lose a friend, Kael. I have made sure of that¡­"


    *BAM!* S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael burst forth with all his might, releasing Baba in the process, but Isiah had anticipated this and teleported away.


    Kael turned around to see that Katari was looking at him with a pleading expression, as though she wanted to apologize for something. Her legs began to quiver, unable to hold her any longer.


    Kael rushed to her side, using his shoulder to gently support her body while he began to transform into his humanoid form.


    He held her large body with his two arms, putting one hand under her neck, a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.


    With as much care as he could provide, he guided her to lay on her side while he kept his hand on the neck gash.


    Katari looked at Kael with her dulling eyes. Despite her fading vision, she could see the seriousness on Kael''s face, she had never seen anything like it before.


    She didn''t know if she was hallucinating but she could make out a stream of liquid flowing from his eyes down his cheeks. But his face remained stern.


    Kael was in a state where he wanted to cry, he wanted to weep, but his mind did not allow such. An act of weakness that he would punish himself for, he rendered himself incapable of crying.


    But his body was not his mind, it still moved on its own, producing tears which he did not ask for.


    Kael wanted to call for N''bay¨¦ or Nalii but guessed they were not around, if not they would have been present a long time ago.


    Seeing Katari close her eyes sent him into a survival state, his eyes sharpened and his expression became colder. Instantly, the tears in his cheeks evaporated.


    Two horns grew out of his head, glowing a bright green and gold.


    Vines crept forward from the mountain, from the forest, from the ground. They rushed at Kael, encasing both him and Katari in a large cocoon.


    Chloe watches this with a complicated expression, she doubted if anyone would be able to survive such an attack. Katari was going to die, she knew it.


    "If she dies, imagine what will happen to you," A voice came from her left, shocking Chloe. She had not sensed anyone approaching her at all.


    She turned to see a naked woman standing dangerously close to her. Her body was a transparent grey, akin to a ghost.


    She had the characteristic tail and ears of a lioness, indicating her identity.


    What scared Chloe was that this woman currently had her hand phased through her neck. All she needed to do was solidify before severing the connection between Chloe''s head and body.


    Priya stared down at the winged lioness with caution, she may be passive but she was ready to end Chloe''s life at any moment.


    Chloe could only stay still.


    At the same time, Isaiah appeared beside Baba not far from the massive vine cocoon.


    "Isaiah, what have you done?" Baba asked weakly as he struggled to get up.


    Isaiah had a wicked look in his eyes, he placed his feet on Baba''s back, forcefully keeping the lion pressed to the ground. It couldn''t be helped, Baba was already very weak and he was currently bleeding from his neck where Kael had bitten him.


    "What have I done?" Isaiah asked as he looked down at Baba with undisguised disdain, "I took my revenge,"


    "You lions think you''re high and mighty, you were still played by my hand."


    Isaiah spread his wings, exuding an air of triumph.


    "No¡­" Baba was about to speak but Isaiah''s feet came down on his head, smashing his jaw into the ground.


    "Shut up!"


    *PEEP!*


    Isaiah''s expression froze as the rune on his shoulder lit up, the same rune that had been drawn by Xu Ying.


    From his position, Baba could glimpse at the flashing red and blue light coming from Isaiah''s shoulder. A bloody smile appeared on his mouth, one gat was full of mockery.


    "That rune that Xu Ying gave you, do you know what it is?" Baba asked, knowing full well that Isaiah didn''t know.


    "It''s a coordinate finder, meant to override your space powers. It will only be triggered when one of us suffers a lethal injury,"


    Isaiah''s expression became grim, he finally understood. He was not just being tracked, he was meant to be the escape path.


    "No¡­" Isaiah shouted but his crummy was cut short as he disappeared from his position unwillingly. Following that, a suction force pulled Baba''s battered body into a space tunnel.


    The same suction force appeared over Chloe and Wadolius, but a new force appeared and surrounded the space tunnels, causing them to collapse on themselves.


    A deep primal growl resounded from the vine cocoon, a growl that could only have come from Kael.

 Chapter 164 164: Ripped Wings

    The magic vessel flew high in the sky, weaving through the clouds like a giant behemoth.


    Below, the demarcation between the land and sea passed by very quickly. The beach, the same one Burdo had traversed to go to the forest, it was the same beach the magic shuttle flew over.


    Within the confines of the mysterious vessel, multiple entities went about their work.


    Inside the central command hall of the magic shuttle, Prince Xu Ying sat on a large chair. His arms rested on the armrests and his legs were crossed.


    His two eyes, one red and one blue, stared at the screen displays at the end of the hall, watching the imagery transmitted from outside.


    The hall was mostly grey due to the undecorated metal walls that had simply been coated with a grey coloring material.


    "Hmm," Xu Ying hummed to himself. He sensed one of his many runes being activated.


    He closed his eyes to check which one it was. Then his eyes snapped open just as quickly.


    "Isaiah?" A frown appeared on his face and he grew worried. The rune he had put on Isaiah was merely there as a precaution, he didn''t expect it to be used anytime soon.


    The only way for the rune to be activated was for a nearby lion or lioness to be gravely injured. The only lions close to Isaiah were Baba, Wadolius, and Chloe.


    Suddenly, the whole magic shuttle came to a halt, causing a loud boom to echo across the sky. The clouds were pushed apart by the shockwave.


    The rats manning the control panels were confused, they hadn''t controlled the magic shuttle to stop moving. They looked behind them to see their master with a frown on his face, not saying anything.


    Of course, the only person who could control the magic shuttle without using any control panel was Xu Ying, there was no need to worry.


    Xu Ying sat up on his chair, narrowing his eyes just as he sensed a disturbance in space.


    In front of him, two figures suddenly appeared, Isaiah and Baba.


    Isaiah still had his wings stretched out, a display of triumph over his enemies. One of his legs was slightly raised, the leg he had used to hold Baba down.


    Baba was beside him, lying on the floor in an expanding pool of blood. He was slowly transforming into a humanoid form but Xu Ying could already see that one of his arms was missing.


    Xu Ying stood up, his frown becoming deeper. It was one thing to expect something like this to happen, it was completely different if it actually happened.


    Wadolius and Chloe were nowhere to be found.


    "Prince Xu Ying¡­Isaiah¡­" Baba struggled to say, the pain coming from his neck caused him to have to use his telepathic voice.


    "I know," Xu Ying said. With a wave of his hand, a magic circle appeared around Isaiah.


    An unholy amount of pressure pressed on the crane, slamming his body into the metal ground.


    Isaiah was flabbergasted, never would he have thought that the rune on his shoulder would turn out to be for this.


    As he felt his bones cracking, he also sensed the incoming auras of the other lions. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, aware that he was going to face the consequences of his actions.


    Xu Ying just stared at Isaiah with a cold expression, from start to finish, he didn''t stand up from his chair or uncross his legs. His mind was already running multiple calculations, deciding on what logical decision he should make next.


    #######


    Back at the mountain.


    There was a period of silence after Isaiah and Baba disappeared.


    Well, the silence wasn''t absolute as almost everyone could hear the growls coming from within the cocoon.


    Chloe had watched in disbelief as the portal that was supposed to help her escape his situation collapsed on itself.


    Obviously, she knew what the rune on Isaiah''s shoulder was for. Xu Ying had briefed them privately about it beforehand, although she had doubted if they would use it.


    She saw it with her own eyes, just as soon as the portal opened up, another terrifying spatial force intercepted it and crushed it from the outside.


    The only people she knew to have powers over space were Isaiah, Kael, and Katari. Isaiah was gone, Katari was¡­ S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only person that could have collapsed the portals was Kael.


    *CRACK!*


    The vine cocoon opened up with a cracking sound, as though they had grown too thick to move around flexibly. This was a sign that too much energy was flowing through them.


    Kael stepped out of the vine cocoon, one Colden paw after the other. Compared to before, his face wasn''t calm.


    He had a nasty snarl creeping on his face and his irises were enlarged, gazing straight at Chloe with undisguised malevolence.


    Chloe blinked and the next thing she knew, Kael was standing directly in front of her, his nose just a few inches from hers.


    Only now that everything was calm could she truly take in the magnificence of Kael. ''He''s big¡­'' She couldn''t help but say to herself in her mind.


    She racked her brain, searching for any memory that would tell her about golden-furred lions, but she couldn''t recall any. She had never seen or heard of any lion that looked like Kael.


    *BAM!*


    Chloe''s head was smashed into the earth with her lower jaw nearly being crushed. She struggled to raise her head up but the golden paw on top of her head was forceful.


    "Look at what you''ve done!" Kael snarled.


    "I''m¡­sorry¡­" Chloe said, still trying to press herself away from his hold.


    "No, you''re not," Kael said as he began to transform into his humanoid form. Priya stood to the side, watching everything with a complicated expression.


    She looked at the vine cocoon. Although unconscious, she could still sense that Katari''s mind was still there, she was still alive.


    She didn''t know what Kael had done to save her and she couldn''t see through the gap of the vine cocoon either.


    The relationship between Katari and Kael was unmistakably complex. Kael''s wrath was understandable.


    Seeing Kael taking a step back to transform and feeling the law rising from her head, Chloe ached fast. She flapped her wings, ignoring the pain and attempting to shoot for the sky.


    Unfortunately for her, Kael had expected this.


    His arm stretched out at a shocking speed and his hand grasped one of Chloe''s wings.


    Chloe had barely left the ground before she was pulled back down and slammed into the ground again.


    Kael placed his bare feet on her back, feeling the soft mix of fur and feathers beneath his feet.


    "Where is Isaiah?" Kael asked with his hand still grasping one of Chloe''s wings.


    "I''m sorry," Chloe pleaded, this time she was genuine.


    "THAT''S NOT WHAT I ASKED YOU!" Kael shouted as he took hold of her other wing. He held the two wings close to the joints since her wingspan was too large for himself to hold each wing by the tip.


    "He''s with the others¡­Xu Ying," Chloe was quick to talk. She didn''t want to betray them so she was intentionally holding out, leaving omissions.


    What she didn''t know was that Kael had already infiltrated her mind with his vast and subtle spirit energy. He could immediately detect when Chloe was holding back.


    Without saying another word, he pulled his arms back, stretching her wings to the limit and earning him her roar mixed with her telepathic scream.


    Chloe felt like her wings were being dislocated, her muscles being torn. She couldn''t even get up with Kael''s feet still on her back.


    "Where is Isaiah?" Kael asked again. He wanted a detailed answer.


    "He''s probably with the rest of us now, I swear, that''s what the portals were for." She said,


    Kael squeezed his hand, allowing the sound of bones cracking under pressure to reach his ears, "And where are the rest of you guys?"


    Chloe didn''t answer, she gritted her teeth, trying her best to suppress the pain.


    Kael frowned, he couldn''t find anything in her mind concerning the location of her other colleagues, it was as if she was intentionally suppressing the memory.


    Kael pulled his arms back again, a ruthless int flashing in his golden eyes. Priya could see that blood was already seeping from Chloe''s feathers.


    If Kael didn''t stop soon, he would end up tearing out Chloe''s wings. And from the look of Kael''s face, he was ready to do such.


    Chloe was not making it easier, she refused to talk, denying Kael Isaiah''s current location.


    Just when Chloe could feel her wings being torn away, Kael suddenly stopped.


    Kael looked to Priya, sending her a questioning gaze.


    "...it should work," Priya ended her sentence, hoping that Kael would follow her suggestion.


    Kael looked down at Chloe again, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Okay," He said, deciding to follow Priya''s advice.


    Chloe opened her eyes, wondering why Kael had stopped, only for her to see a shimmering golden contract floating in front of her face.

 Chapter 165 165: Life Support

    Chloe looked at what was in front of her, stupefied. Floating in front of her face was a golden rectangular paper with words scribbled on it.


    Chloe understood what was written with full clarity,


    An agreement between her and Kael, one that stated she would become Kael''s pride consort and enforced absolute loyalty.


    There were also other clauses that drew her attention but none was more eye-catching than the clause that demanded absolute loyalty.


    It was like a joke to her.


    In heaven, she hadn''t even joined any pride yet. She had the opportunity to become the consort of a Lord, or maybe a Prince if she was lucky.


    If the expedition in this world went without a hitch, she may even become the consort of the King himself.


    There was no reason for her to settle for less, and by less, she meant Kael the uncultured lion.


    Kael might be strong but there were stronger options out there, far stronger options.


    Logically speaking, on a normal day, she could have just accepted to join Kael''s pride and betray him later on.


    But this contract made that scenario practically impossible. She would still be able to betray Kael, but it would cost her her life.


    Disloyalty with the price of death.


    Chloe definitely didn''t want to sign such a contract. To her, there was no difference between this a slavery with some benefits.


    Plus, she didn''t know anything about Kael. If she was going to join any pride, the pride leader had to at least be likable to her.


    Although she didn''t know which universal power was responsible for the creation of such a contract, she couldn''t care to ask at the moment. All she knew was that signing the contract was a bad idea.


    Kael, sensing her surface intentions, frowned. He squeezed her wings again and pressed his foot harder.


    "You don''t seem to understand something, this isn''t a bargain or a request. Submit or die!"


    Purple sparks surged out of Kael''s legs, flowing around his feet and sipping into Chloe''s back.


    Chloe arched her back as she roared from the pain. She was still baffled at how Kael was able to overpower her while still being in his humanoid form.


    What she didn''t know was that Kael was simply applying common sense and the science of leverage.


    "Wait¡­you don''t understand, I can''t afford to join any pride right now¡­"


    *CRACK!*


    "Aaaaaah!"


    Kael''s expression was as cold as ice, he was already running out of patience.


    Priya stepped forward at this point, "I suggest you comply. Besides, it''s a privilege to join the pride of the Primordial Lion."


    "What?" Chloe paused struggling, having heard something that caught attention.


    However, the image of Katari with her slit throat flashed through Kael''s mind again. His patience had reached its current limit.


    *CRACK!*


    Chloe gasped for breath, unable to cry with the pressure being applied on her back. Kael wasn''t holding back anymore, she could feel her spine slowly being separated.


    Only in the face of death would one know their ultimate priorities.


    "Fine Fine! I accept it!" Chloe said, feeling that Kael would need to apply a bit more force to either rip away her wings or divide her spine into two.


    If she didn''t agree, Kael would definitely kill her.


    As soon as she completed her sentence, a mark appeared at the lower corner of the floating contract, and then the contract disappeared into moats of tiny lights, scattering into nothingness.


    A gold crown tattoo appeared on her forehead, contrasting with her black fur. The tattoo glowed for a moment, showing itself to the world as evidence of Chloe''s new status, before disappearing.


    Confirming that the deed had been done, Kael let go of Chloe''s wings and removed his leg from her back.


    He could feel a new power forming in the depths of his being, a new affinity being attached to his Lionheart.


    Priya sighed, from both relief and uncertainty. Just now, she was ready to give Chloe a swift death, an act of mercy compared to the brutality Kael would have preferred.


    "Get up," Kael ordered Chloe. Albeit reluctant, Chloe stood up. Her wings quivered and her fur and feathers began to retract, she transformed into her humanoid form.


    Kael observed with an indifferent gaze how her clothes mysteriously appeared to cover her nakedness.


    "Priya, I want you to get everyone, especially Nalii, Zabita, N''bay¨¦, Eidel, and Ruda. Find them, I want to know why they were not here to¡­attend to the situation." Kael turned to Priya and ordered.


    Priya nodded before she began walking away. Before she left, she glanced at Chloe who looked like she couldn''t believe what was happening.


    Because of her and Isaiah, Kael would probably remain in a bad mood for a long time.


    *Sigh*


    Not saying anything, Kael walked back to the vine cocoon, his steps steady and heavy.


    The vines parted ways to show what was inside.


    Within the four-meter-tall cocoon, Katari''s body, now in her humanoid form, lay on the ground which was wide enough to contain her full length.


    The inside of the vine cocoon brimmed with vitality, the walls glowed green and the air was fresh. Yet despite the overwhelming life force being gathered in the cocoon, Katari lay on the floor, barely alive.


    Moving closer, one would see that the slit had vines creeping into it. Vines extended from the walls and the ground, creeping into her throat through the slit.


    The vines, in their own mysterious way, were substituting for the damaged part of her neck, working hard to transmit vital energy into her body.


    This vital energy was being absorbed in substantial quantities from all over the vine-covered mountain and the nearby trees.


    Unfortunately, as impressive as it looked, it was insufficient. Katari was still dying, but very slowly.


    Most of the vital energy was directed toward keeping her alive instead of actually healing the injury. If even a little amount of energy was diverted, her life force would rapidly fade away¡­


    Something so fatal just couldn''t be healed away so easily. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael knelt down slowly, fearful that heavy movements would disrupt this makeshift life support.


    "Katari," he whispered, touching her forehead gently. She didn''t react, her eyes remained closed, her skin remained pale, and her body remained mostly unresponsive.


    Compared to Katari''s usual cold and indifferent expression, her current state was that of vulnerability and helplessness.


    Her skin was pale due to a loss of blood, touching her skin, Kael could feel how cold she was. Her overall body temperature was still dripping very slowly.


    The green horns grew out of Kael''s forehead again as he controlled the vine cocoon.


    The vital energy was sucked out of vines from beyond and expelled into the cocoon, increasing the overall vital energy concentrated within the area.


    If an ordinary animal with surface injuries were to be present l, they would feel all these wounds being healed just by being close.


    The vital energy flowed into the vines that crept into Katari''s neck, supplying her with more external life force.


    For a moment, the rate at which she was dying slowed down significantly. It was only now that the edges of the slit shifted a bit.


    "I''m¡­sorry," Chloe said from behind him. She had walked over to him, unsure why, and just stood there, watching him take care of Katari.


    "Hmm," Kael heard her, but couldn''t care less. ''Sorry'' wouldn''t help him save Katari, only make him feel better.


    Chloe kept quiet, understanding that Kael didn''t want to hear her voice. She could already feel small aches whenever she thought of just stabbing him in the back or running away.


    The pain was negligible but would surely worsen if she went ahead with it.


    This was her fate now, she realized, tied to this lion from a lost world. She could only sigh, at least she was alive.


    "Kael?" Another voice came over into his mind, it was his mother''s voice, Nalii.


    With her were Diane and Zabita, Priya was still looking for the rest.


    The previously stoic expression on Kael''s face immediately disappeared, replaced with a deep frown and an upside-down smile.


    "Where were you, mother?" He asked, he couldn''t help but lace his tone with a hint of aggressiveness.


    "Kael I¡­" Nalii began.


    "Where were you?" Kael asked again, turning around to look at her.


    Nalii kept quiet, unable to give a satisfactory excuse. That she was high on those purple mushrooms was not a good thing to say right now.


    Kael had seen her when she took the mushrooms, yet here he was, questioning her. Still, she didn''t feel displeased, Kael''s anger was understandable.


    "Where were all of you?" Kael asked, finally revealing that his question was directed to everyone.


    Zabita lowered her head, allowing her black hair to shade her eyes from his sight. She had been so focused on refining her control over metal that when she realized the commotion, it had already ended.


    Diane was a bit bolder, her head remained high and her back remained straight, "I was preoccupied with the other threat, Your Majesty.


    Commander Bibi and Ken¡­"


    "Enough," Kael snapped, causing Diane to reel her head back. Her ponytail swerved under the influence of the morning breeze.


    Subconsciously, the three of them all looked to Chloe, the grey-clothed winged lady who stood behind Kael.


    Chloe could see from their expressions that if Kael wasn''t here, she would probably have been ripped to shreds.


    Kael sighed, there was no use acting like this, the deed had already been done.


    "Nalii, come, we might still be able to save Katari," Kael changed his time and spoke to his mother, "... might."

 Chapter 166 166: Kataris Health

    Their ears all perked up when they heard Kael, this was the most important thing right now, a way to save Katari.


    Nalii walked over with a cautious expression and crouched next to Katari''s unconscious body.


    "I''m keeping her alive, I want you to direct your own energy at healing the slit wound," Kael said from Katari''s other side. As he talked, he didn''t break his concentration.


    Nalii nodded her head and stretched out her hands. More vines slithered over from outside the cocoon and entered.


    They surrounded Katari''s body, slithering over her body before reaching her neck. Two vines positioned themselves at the right and left side of her neck.


    Their tips touched the boundaries of the flesh tear, shimmering with a dull green light.


    Right before their eyes, the slit began to close from the edges. Bad blood was spilled as the body tried to pump out fresh blood with the new input of vital energy.


    The flesh regrew slowly, strands of tissue stringing from one end to the other. The price was unbearably slow, but it couldn''t be helped.


    Any slight fluctuations could send Katari into shock and worsen the matter, they had to be very careful


    Everyone watched in silence, not daring to breathe harder. Chloe gazed with a complicated expression. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She personally didn''t care about Katari and really couldn''t care less if she lived or died. But Katari''s health was detrimental to her survival.


    If anything happened to Katari, Kael would probably do something terrible to her.


    ''Fuck you, Isaiah,'' She thought to herself. At the same time, she wondered what fate Isaiah was currently facing.


    She guessed that Isaiah and Baba had probably been transported to Xu Ying''s location. Knowing Xu Ying, he would be able to deduce everything that happened with his own means.


    Would Xu Ying turn around to save her? She didn''t know. To a Magus Lion like Xu Ying who survived in logical reasoning, turning around to save Chloe was not logical.


    Priya was yet to arrive, but her voice echoed into Kael''s head, "N''bay¨¦ is about to evolve, she seems to have reached a crucial point in her experiments,"


    Kael processed Priya''s words before responding, "I understand, leave her alone,"


    N''bay¨¦ had been at the tier 3 rank the longest among all of them, it wasn''t weird that she would suddenly gain the means to evolve at this time.


    After that, Kael put his entire focus into stabilizing Katari''s body.


    A few moments later, the vine pulled out of Katari''s neck fully and the slit on her throat had finally closed, although it wasn''t perfect. A scar drew from the left to the right side of her neck.


    Kael didn''t press on, trying to remove the scar would just be a waste of energy at the moment. And so, Katari now had a scar on her neck, evidence that her throat had once been slashed.


    Now that the slit was closed, the vital energy turned to restoring Katari''s regular body functions. Her chest rose and fell again, her oxygen no longer being supplied by the vines.


    Her blood began circulating again and her pale skin regained its healthy hue. She still looked frail though.


    "She''s not waking up¡­" Kael said, the frown on his face relaxed but his heartbeat rate kept spiking.


    "Maybe she''s¡­" Nalii wanted to say but didn''t know the right word to use.


    Kael''s spirit energy flowed into Katari''s mind. Surprisingly, even as she was unconscious, her mental defense was still as tight as ever.


    He could sense her consciousness, dormant with an aura of trauma.


    "She''s in a coma," Kael said, helping Nalii to say the right word.


    Nalii sighed, there was nothing they could do now except wait.


    "Priya, do you think we can wake her up forcefully?" Kael asked Priya who was already coming back after not finding Ruda and Eidel.


    "No, absolutely not. We can try but that would just make her mind unstable once she actually wakes up," Priya''s reply was fast and harsh.


    Katari was already a wild extremist with no sense of empathy, tampering with her mind could result in very bad things for everyone.


    Priya didn''t want to imagine the type of maniac Katari would become if she was forcefully woken up.


    If she was simply sleeping, there would be no consequences of forcefully waking her up. But she was in a coma, they were two different things.


    "So, we just have to wait?" Kael asked, even though he already knew the answer.


    "Yes," Priya said firmly, "Even if we wanted to wake her up, we need to be at a higher level to avoid any mistakes. For now, she has to wake up on her own."


    Kael sighed once again before getting up and stepping out of the vine cocoon.


    "Nalii, take her to her cave. Make the place conducive enough for her." Kael ordered to which Nalii obeyed without hesitation.


    She waved her arms, taking control of the vine cocoon and closing the gap with her still inside it. Multiple thicker vines sprouted out, propping the whole structure up and taking it away.


    Kael watched with a complicated gaze as the cocoon climbed up the mountain. Behind him, Chloe, Diane, and Zabita looked at the ascending cocoon with visible sadness.


    No matter how Katari had made them feel, she was still their Pride sister. Not to mention that Katari prioritized them over most things, even though she did it in her own weird way.


    She might only care about Kael, but that had been extended to the people Kael cared about.


    Priya then arrived, her form was transparent like a ghost, and glided effortlessly over the ground at a quick pace.


    When she stood amongst them, she could feel the overwhelming mix of emotions, mostly melancholic feelings.


    Kael''s emotions were hidden, she couldn''t feel anything from him. It was like he had turned into a cold, emotionless machine.


    Kael turned around to show an indifferent expression, an expression that caused her to shiver.


    This was the exact same expression Katari always wore, the same. No light of soul illuminated his eyes, his lips were like a mask he just put on, and his head almost leaned to the side, ever so slightly.


    Subconsciously picturing Katari''s face in his mind had caused Kael to start mimicking her.


    "You, what''s your name?" Kael asked. Everyone turned their head to look at the black-winged stranger standing in their midst.


    Instantly, Priya felt the general emotion shift from sadness to hostility, very intense.


    "Chloe," Chloe answered, she instinctively leaned back slightly, ready to react to any sudden attack. None of them were looking at her in a friendly manner even though she was now part of the pride.


    It was a bit strange that she was the only one wearing clothes among them.


    "Chloe," Kael nodded, "Where did you come from?"


    Chloe didn''t answer immediately, unsure of what exactly Kael was asking, "I¡­"


    "Let me rephrase," Kael cut her off, intent on getting a detailed answer, "The portal in the sky, was that you?"


    "Yes," Chloe answered. She had already resigned herself to truthfully answer all of Kael''s questions.


    "I and other lions," She completed.


    "Hmm, and where did you guys come from?" Kael asked again.


    "Heaven," Chloe responded.


    To her answer, Kael raised one of his eyebrows, "Heaven?"


    "Yes, Leonine Heaven in particular," Chloe said.


    Kael decided to ask about it later, "You guys, how many are you?"


    Chloe thought for a moment, counting their numbers in her head, "We were originally fifteen lions, with over two hundred rat slaves."


    Kael took in a deep breath hole he rubbed the bridge in between his eyes. Two hundred rats like the ones that had just attacked them, was a significant force.


    "What are your power levels?" He asked the most important question.


    "Fourteen of us are tier 3 lions, one is a tier four lion. The two hundred plus rat slaves were equal or slightly superior to a tier 2 lion." Chloe said.


    Priya frowned, the more she listened, the more she felt that something was wrong.


    "Kael, can I ask a question?" Priya asked Kael. She had to be careful not to disregard Kael''s authority here at this time.


    Kael nodded as he sank into thought.


    "How did you people encounter Isaiah?" Priya asked Chloe.


    Chloe didn''t feel compelled to answer Priya but for the sake of Kael who stood dangerously close to her, she complied.


    "He came to us first, seeking refuge or something. He submitted to our leading lion, Prince Xu Ying.


    We really never suspected that he was just playing us to fight each other, you have to understand¡­"


    Priya shook her head, not willing to listen to her explanation, it had already happened anyway.


    "What did you and your people come to do in this world?" Priya asked a crucial question, one that gained Kael''s full attention.


    Chloe took a deep breath, she felt like she was betraying her clan and her friend, Alora, which wasn''t too far off.


    "We came in search of a heavenly beacon."

 Chapter 167 167: Symbol Of The Lion Kings

    "Heavenly Beacon?" Kael said.


    "Yeah," Chloe replied while shrugging her shoulders.


    "What is the Heavenly Beacon? What is it used for?" Kael asked.


    Chloe looked at Kael, briefly glancing at his eye-catching golden irises before looking away.


    "Heavenly Beacons are the ultimate treasures that allow mortals to traverse space and time to reach the domain of heaven.


    Technically, only gods can open the gates to the heavenly realms, but the gods are a bunch of enigmatic beings. Asking them to open a heavenly gate for us is like mud trying to curry favor with the clouds.


    We lions are very prideful and wouldn''t be willing to serve under any god that isn''t a lion, unfortunately, there are no lion gods.


    Our ancestor, Silax The Peaceful, once made an agreement with a god that allowed him access to one of the unoccupied Heavenly Realms.


    This act boosted our lion race and allowed us to stretch our reaches to many worlds with a solid base.


    The longer we stayed in this heavenly realm, the more it transformed to soothe us. During the times of Jin The Purger, it was eventually named The Leonine Heaven.


    The Heavenly Beacons are naturally occurring treasures that could be set to permanently open gates to certain heavenly realms.


    Although I say naturally occurring, they are spurred into existence by the beings who reside in heaven. Our Leonine Heavenly Realm''s Heavenly Beacons are spurred into existence by some powerful lions.


    Alas, as powerful as we are, the fact that we don''t have a lion god remains a cause for trouble. Countless other civilizations wish to take our heavenly realm for themselves.


    And many of them are willing to wage a bloody war if they get the chance.


    That is why we make sure to track down all Heavenly Beacons and monitor them closely. If an enemy civilization got their hands on it, they could invade the Leonine Heavenly Realm.


    There was a great war that happened eons ago, a war between lions and dragons. The war was devastating and caused many Heavenly Beacons to be scattered across galaxies.


    Vassal wilds were lost and we had to track the heavenly beacons. Some of those beacons were only recovered after some civilizations unsuccessfully invaded our heaven.


    To avoid more of such disasters, we try to find the lost heavenly beacons. Plus, finding new worlds means access to new resources."


    Chloe ended her explanation, eyeing Kael''s expression when she said the last part.


    Kael of course knew what she was trying to imply, this world was up for grabs for any who had the power to take it.


    "How long has the Conquering been stalled?" Kael suddenly asked a question that made Chloe''s face darken.


    The Conquering, the most important tradition of the lions.


    "How do you know¡­" Chloe wanted to ask but shut up after seeing Kael''s cold gaze.


    "Ever since the sacrifice of Noel The Great, our efforts to conquer the known universe have been¡­unrewarding.


    These days, we just fight over lost worlds, rather than setting out and conquering everything in our path.


    Some say that the Primordial Lion would appear to lead us to our former glory, some are opposed to the existence of a Primordial Lion¡­"


    "Hehehehe,"


    Chloe was cut off again, this time by Kael''s laughter. Those golden canines glinted under the light of the rising sun, boasting their incredible sharpness.


    Kael seemed to have heard the funniest thing ever, "Hahaha, hope you guys are prepared for some restructuring." Kael said in the middle of his laughing bit.


    Chloe''s eyes fell on Kael''s hair, the way the golden strands arranged themselves around his head. His figure was tall, the only person who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him was Diane.


    "It is exactly what you''re thinking," Chloe heard Priya''s voice in her head, "He is the Primordial Lion,"


    Chloe didn''t react, she was still skeptical. Sure, Kael looked different from other lions she knew of, but it was too farfetched to call him the Primordial Lion.


    If indeed, Kael was the Primordial Lion, it would be a matter of absolute significance, something more important than her. Lionesses would line up to be his consort and lions would seek him for guidance.


    She shook her head to remove her thoughts from her head. If what Prya said was true, she was either extremely lucky or extremely unlucky.


    "Enough of that," Kael said, bringing all the lionesses back from their deep thoughts. "I want to know where Isaiah is,"


    "He''s probably with our leader, Prince Xu Ying," Chloe said truthfully.


    "Your leader?" Diane interrupted, finally speaking up after being quiet for so long. She folded her arms, propping up her breasts, "Kael is your leader now," She stated.


    Chloe simply nodded, not willing to say anything to this Lioness who wasn''t even trying to hide her hostility.


    "And where is this Xu Ying?" Kael asked.


    "He and the rest of the team went ahead to look for the heavenly beacon, Xu Ying had pinpointed the region where the beacon was."


    "Where is that?"


    Chloe then raised her hand and pointed in a direction, "He was heading towards the sea before we left,"


    Kael froze, the direction Chloe was pointing in, wasn''t that the same direction as the Paradise Beach Burdo had come from.


    Could it be that the heavenly beacon was the cause of ''that phenomenon''? Kael couldn''t be sure, not yet.


    "Is there anything you''re not telling me?" Kael asked. He softened his expression, trying to coax Chloe.


    Chloe frowned, Kael''s method was too obvious, but she still couldn''t deny him his answer.


    "I''m not sure, but it''s very likely that the heavenly beacon is not the only thing that they will find," Chloe said.


    "Elaborate," Kael said.


    "The thing is, back in the era of Noel The Great, each Lion King represented a heavenly beacon.


    The heavenly beacon was practically fused with lion kings, basically acting as a status symbol and a bridge between the cosmos and the heavens.


    If a heavenly beacon was lost, it just meant the lion king it belonged to had died. So, wherever you find a lost heavenly beacon, you will most likely find the remains of a lion king from Noel''s era."


    Kael blinked, processing the information, ''It all makes sense now,'' he thought to himself.


    Any lion king who died alone in this world during that era would have two fates. Either he died in battle without a proper burial, or he was dying and chose this world as his final resting place.


    If it was the latter, one could only imagine the kind of ancient treasures they might find.


    This could also be the reason why Paradise Beach existed in the first place. The lions weren''t just looking for the lost beacons, they were also trying to recover their legacies.


    "Gather the wolves," Kael finally said as he began to walk away, "And someone should get Burdo for me,"


    Zabita nodded before rushing to the river where Burdo usually stayed with his pride. Priya''s eyes glowed grey as she began contacting all the wolves and talking to Commander Bibi.


    Chloe just stood there, wondering what Kael wanted to do. Her mind drifted to Wadolius, Diane had mentioned that she was dealing with him before.


    "Umm, sorry," Chloe turned to Diane who was still present with her arms folded against her chest.


    "The other guy, is he okay?" Chloe asked. She didn''t ask out of genuine care, she just wanted a familiar face in this unfamiliar place.


    Unfortunately for her, Diane wasn''t in the mood to answer questions, especially from her.


    Before Chloe could react, Diane responded by lunging at her and delivering a sharp jab to her chest. The punch was heavy but the light enough habit didn''t break the winged lady''s sternum.


    Chloe flew back and fell to the ground, unable to respond to her sudden attack. She whizzed and gasped for breath, feeling the agonizing pain coming from her chest.


    She looked up to see that Diane was already walking away. Chloe could only stand up while wearing a deep malicious scowl on her face.


    At the same time, she couldn''t really blame them, all this was because of Isaiah.


    Isaiah¡­


    She hoped he was suffering wherever he was right now.


    Meanwhile, Kael followed a certain familiar path while sinking deep in his thoughts.


    He wasn''t worried that Chloe would run away as such an act would be classified as disloyalty.


    He was thinking of the information he had gotten from her. He realized that there was a lot he didn''t know about the lions, their culture, and civilization as a whole.


    He may have the memories of the Primordial Lions, but a lot also happened during the periods they were not around. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kael also thought of the significance of the heavenly beacon. He already knew that heaven existed as Noel had mentioned it a few times in his memories, he just didn''t know how to get there.


    A whole heavenly realm dominated and populated by the mighty lions. If he wanted to enter heaven, which he would, he had to do it strategically.


    ''Heavenly beacon, the symbol of a lion king,'' Kael mused, ''I must get it for myself.''

 Chapter 168 168: Instructions, New Policies

    The six-trees clearing, a place that had been kept hidden from the rest of the forest for some time.


    Through repeated use of magic runes scattered everywhere, placed around layer upon layer.


    All who searched for this place would find themselves going in circles, unable to reach their destination no matter how many sharp twists they made.


    Only a being who had experience in the arts of magic could navigate his way through the ghostly trees to find the Six-Tree clearing.


    Kael strolled past the ghostly trees, feeling the dense magic energy pressing against his skin. On his back was a green magic rune and etched on the pupils of his two eyes were blue intricate patterns.


    The blue, circular pattern magic runes, overlapped with his golden irises, creating a pair 9f mesmerizing eyes no one was around to see.


    Kael eventually reached the area of the six-tree clearing to see a magnificent sight.


    Six trees stood in a circular formation as usual. Unlike before when the trees only had one circular magic rune on them, now each tree was completely covered in glowing runes.


    Each tree exuded a terrifying amount of magic energy, acting as an energy storehouse for magic, the same storehouse used to power the magic stones and temporarily powered the Log Carriers.


    At the center of this clearing was a large lioness with multiple rune tattoos flashing all over her body.


    She sat on the ground in the middle of the clearing, allowing the vast magic energy of the trees to bathe her in the overflowing magic energy.


    Her body brimmed with color and her eyes were closed shut. As sensitive as N''bay¨¦ might have been, she was currently unaware of the happenings of her immediate surroundings.


    Her mind was in constant turmoil, revising and rewriting calculations. Her body was constantly trembling as it underwent minuscule change.


    Kael could practically feel the quality of her magic energy being lifted.


    Kael walked to N''bay¨¦, standing in front of the large lioness and observing her closely. Truly, she was unaware of anything, Kael was hiding his aura and she didn''t even open her eyes to stop to check who stood in front of her.


    "This is good," Kael said to no one in particular, "By the time you''re awake, I''ll probably be gone¡­"


    Then he turned around to look at the trees and the grounds and the trees. He noticed that N''bay¨¦ had prepared well for this moment l, she probably saw it coming and knew exactly when it would come.


    "Just how useful would you become once you''ve evolved? Will this affect my child?" Kael asked himself.


    His eyes looked back at N''bay¨¦, sensing the growing life inside of her. It had just been three months of pregnancy.


    No longer saying anything, Kael immediately walked out of the six-tree clearing, having seen enough, he had other things to do.


    However, one of the trees gained a new magic rune, a small red mark at the bottom of the trunk.


    Inside this rune was a recording of everything Kael had said and things he did not say. Kael had left a message for N''bay¨¦.


    If she was successful in this evolution, she would be the strongest of his lionesses, he had to leave some instructions for her to follow.


    ######


    Burdo walked beside Zabita, still in his tier 2 lion form.


    After three months of staying close to Kael, one of the most wealthy and influential beasts in the forest, he still hadn''t evolved to tier 3.


    This was intentional on Kael''s part, something Burdo did not really appreciate.


    He had watched non-lions being given the chance to be stronger, better, and faster, while he, the brother of the king, wallowed by the river.


    Burdo''s lionesses had long lost the excitement they had for him. The only reason they still followed him was because half-bread was better than none.


    Their first choice for a pride leader to follow would have been Kael, unfortunately, the king wasn''t interested in having them as consorts.


    There were now other lions already out in the forest but none of them were related to Kael in any way. Kael simply allowed them to stay as some sort of¡­experiment to watch.


    It was better to stay with the brother of the King, even though both of them didn''t really have a good relationship.


    Burdo could not accept this, not with his nature. He had gone to Kael and demanded an explanation, risking his life in the process.


    Fortunately for him, Kael had been in a good mood that day and dismissed his unrespectful tone. Instead, Kael had told him that he would allow Burdo to evolve once his first daughter was born.


    Of course, the betrothal contract, Burdo didn''t forget.


    If Burdo had tried to evolve the manual way, like Priya, perhaps he would already be tier 3 by now.


    "Did something happen?" Burdo asked, his dorsal fin opening slightly.


    He noticed how the atmosphere near the mountain was dry and down even though it was early morning.


    The wolves patrolled with their ears down, the foxes were not bickering as usual, and there were a lot of bird scouts in the sky all of a sudden.


    Zabita nodded, continuing her walk. She then proceeded to explain the attack that had happened and tell him about Katari''s injuries.


    Burdo''s expression froze, Kael was in a bad mood, he didn''t need to be a genius before he knew this.


    Subconsciously, his steps became lighter and his breathing became more controlled.


    Zabita side-eyed him, observing his involuntary act of subservience. She didn''t feel any egoistical superiority watching him, even though she had to be careful.


    Eventually, they arrived at the side of the mountain where Kael was currently residing.


    This place had the steepest mountain side and there were almost no caves in the immediate vicinity.


    Currently, there were a lot of wolves around, even some foxes and snakes.


    Burdo didn''t like snakes, and as soon as he saw some of them grouped up in a corner, he frowned.


    In the absence of Madam Vixy, the caste leader of the Fox Merchants, Ken stood in her place. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A lot of people could already tell that this would lead to some serious issues in the future, Madam Vixy was just¡­not someone who should be offended repeatedly.


    The leader of the Snake Assassins, Esta, was here too. Her green snake body coiled up in a corner next to Ken.


    She was one of the few creatures who preferred to stay in her true form.


    Commander Bibi was also present. He stood next to Kael in his humanoid form, arms folded and wearing a cold expression.


    There were some bloodstains on his body as well as some scars on his chest, but he didn''t seem bothered by it, he listened attentively to what Kael was saying.


    Olivia, Priya, Diane, and a strange person Burdo had never seen before were also present. This strange person wore grey clothes, had brown skin and deep black braided hair.


    Behind her were two powerful black wings, folded and containing their power to themselves.


    "Nalii is probably staying with Katari to watch over her and make sure she''s in good health," Zabita said offhandedly as she made her way to Kael and the rest.


    Eidel and Ruda were still nowhere to be found, Skybaud, the leader of the Avian Intel was also absent.


    "...A change of plans is necessary, the campaign would have to be brought closer which will stress you guys," Kael said with an indifferent expression.


    "No worries Your Majesty, we were looking forward to this day," Commander Bibi said with a cruel smile.


    The others nodded. It was at this time that Burdo and Zabita joined them, forming a circle that separated them from the rest of the wolves and foxes.


    "Burdo, you''re here, good," Kael said, nodding his head before looking at the Esta.


    "Katari will not be available for some time, you will have to coordinate with Priya or N''bay¨¦ while I''m gone.


    I want the elephants subjugated before I come back, failure is not an option. Use all the means you have, get an elephant spy if you have to." Kael said.


    Esta nodded her head, bowing slightly to acknowledge Kael''s command. She didn''t know how long Kael would be away but she knew she had to start delivering results as soon as possible.


    "As for the instigators of this early morning attack, I personally want to pay them a ''visit'',


    The campaign to take over Paradise Beach is in full swing as of this moment.


    I doubt if our current army numbers will be enough. For now, two policies will be in effect.


    The first is that the warrior subcaste will be open. Fox Merchants, Avians, Snakes, and perhaps bears, they can now apply to become part-time warriors.


    This is just the first, Priya or N''bay¨¦ will give you the signal for other sub-castes to be open. I wish to use this to diversify our economy.


    The second policy is that another round of aggressive recruitment will be going on. You start recruiting now and you continue as you make your way to Paradise Beach.


    By the time you reach your destination, I expect a force of more than one thousand warriors, feel free to surpass my expectations."


    Kael''s words stunned the listeners, but Kael didn''t budge, his decision was made. As a matter of fact, Burdo felt it was a reasonable thing.


    Only he knew just how bad it would be to underestimate the inhabitants of Paradise Beach, especially those Cheetah brothers.


    Kael looked to the sky, waiting¡­

 Chapter 169 169: Cheetah Bothers

    Kael raised his head to look at the sky, waiting for something.


    Soon, the winds bellowed and Chloe also looked up. She saw a large bird with yellow and white feathers descending from the sky.


    The tall bird landed on the ground outside the circle, bringing with him a gust of wind that ruffled the furs of the nearby beings.


    Chloe and Skybaud''s eyes jammed, they sensed each other''s similarities, their powers. Subconsciously, they tucked their wings closer to themselves.


    Skybaud frowned, he didn''t have a good impression of this black-winged humanoid lioness. After all, she and Isaiah had killed many birds of the Avian Intel before reaching the mountain.


    "Skybaud!" Kael called out, he had been expecting him.


    Skybaud then turned to Kael, focusing on why he was here, "Your Majesty, Eidel and Ruda have returned.


    Also, the scouts have been replaced,"


    Kael nodded his head, "That''s good," He then thought for some moment before talking again, "The birds can now join the warrior sub-caste to become part-time warriors.


    I have a feeling aerial battles will be very crucial in the future.


    Commander Bibi, for the campaign, handle the speech and assembling of the warriors. Ken and Madam Vixy would handle logistics.


    The rest of you will stay back and form a relay of backings to support the army. At the same time, still be focused on eliminating the elephants.


    As for me, I''ll be going ahead of the army right now¡­"


    "What?" Priya asked, surprised.


    The others were equally stunned, they didn''t think that Kael would decide to move out today, right now.


    "Yes, I was just waiting for Eidel and Ruda, they are the fastest among you.


    I''m truly after Isaiah and the magic shuttle he''s on, as for the Paradise Beach, I will pass it on my way.


    Burdo will show you the way, you guys are going straight to Paradise Beach and subjugating everything in the way, nothing more.


    Chloe will also be coming with me. Oh, speaking of which, what happened to that other guy, Wadolius?"


    "He died," Diane responded while giving a side glance to Chloe, watching her expression. "His injuries were too severe,"


    Kael raised an eyebrow, "Oh, okay," Kael shrugged his shoulders and started walking away.


    "Share the body with all the wolves who fought during the attack.


    Everyone, get to work immediately. Follow me, Chloe," Kael said. If he had pockets, he would have put his hands in them to seem nonchalant.


    The two of them walked away from the group under the watch of the wolves, foxes, and snakes.


    The king walked away, unescorted and accompanied by the current most hated person, almost.


    Commander was actually thankful to Chloe, although he would never utter it. The deputies have already been itching for a fight, he could only imagine the amount of loot they would get from the paradise beach.


    "I intend to know more about you when we start our journey, you and I have some things to talk about," Kael suddenly said after the two had made some distance with the crowd.


    Chloe blinked, unsure of what Kael was implying, "Really?" She asked, glancing at Kael''s side profile. She had to admit, he was actually good-looking, very good-looking.


    "Yes," Kael nodded, "I need to be sure whether you''re valuable or not. My assessment will determine if I shall keep you around after this ordeal."


    Chloe''s face sank, Kael was basically saying that he was not sure if he would kill her yet.


    "Kael!" Priya''s voice came into his head at this time. Kael turned around to see Priya walking over to him with a worried expression.


    "Kael, are you really sure?" Priya asked when she got close to Kael.


    "Yes, I''ll leave the kingdom in your hands temporarily," Kael said. He had his reasons for doing this.


    Priya might be emotional and unnecessarily emphatic, but this made her a very good candidate for managing people. Her emotional intelligence made it very easy for her to navigate tricky social interactions.


    Not to mention, Priya was very powerful, just passive.


    "I don''t think I''m the best person for such a job," Priya said, being honest. She was aware of her shortcomings, her heightened emotions were an advantage as much as it was a disadvantage.


    "I know, just do the job until N''bay¨¦ wakes up," Kael advised, "Just do the needful, when N''bay¨¦ wakes up, she''ll make sure everything is in order,"


    "Okay," Priya nodded, albeit with a reluctant expression.


    Kael was not oblivious to Priya''s thoughts, he placed his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look into his eyes, "Don''t worry, I''ll be fine," He said with a smile.


    Priya nodded, "What about the slave rats, what should we do with them?" She asked.


    The fourteen slave rats were still under her mind control and had all been gathered in prison caves, just in case something happened.


    Kael turned to Chloe who had been standing by the side watching the both of them, "The slave rats won''t explode as long as they don''t die right?" He asked her.


    "Yes, I think so," Chloe said.


    Kael turned back to Priya, "Do you think you can keep them under your control, at least until N''bay¨¦ wakes up?"


    Priya nodded, "Yeah, that''s easy," She said with a copy smile, she wasn''t the boastful type but she tried once in a while.


    "Okay then," Kael then turned his back to see two large lionesses making their way to him.


    One lioness was bright reddish-orange and had two tails, she hadn''t yet arrived but the heat she brought with her was evident.


    The second lioness had purple fur and somewhat pink eyes. Purplish-pink electricity occasionally emerged from her body and flowed around her body like snakes through water.


    The two sisters, almost identical in facial structure, looked around confused. One of the bird scouts had told them what happened while they were away and a patrolling wolf confirmed it.


    "Eidel, Ruda, nice of you to show up," Kael said, but there was no smile on his face. Priya sighed, knowing that these two were about to receive the scolding of their lives.


    #######


    Far away from the mountain, at the alleged end of the world, the barrier between the savage land and the sea.


    A beach existed here, a very peculiar and mysterious beach.


    The sand here was pale yellow and brought out the color of the ocean. The breeze here was endless, blowing from the cool waters to the land.


    A settlement existed on this beach, standing as a bridge between the Sea and the land.


    It had been a while since Burdo left this place and everything had changed. It wasn''t as savage as he would have thought.


    The massive bones of several aquatic animals had been arrayed in a circular form, creating a circle that served as the borders of the settlement.


    At this time, a flock of birds was coming over from the direction of the forest. On a closer look, the birds were flamingos, with pink feathers, long necks, and long legs.


    Hundreds of them flapped their wings, causing quite a commotion, this was especially with the fact that some of these flamingos were very large.


    Some of these flamingos were carrying items with their talons. Some carried rocks, some carried branch pieces, and some carried unrefined metal ores.


    "The flamingo traders have arrived!" A telepathic voice spread out from the settlement.


    The settlement was by no means small, having a diameter of a couple kilometers, it was the size of a small town or a large village.


    For this person''s telepathic voice to spread so far, he or she had to be very strong.


    Within the settlement, most of what could be considered shelters or houses were just large bones and logs stacked on top of each other. They were mostly small, similar to a small hut.


    After the voice died down, many creatures scrambled out of their makeshift shelters, bringing with them their own items which were mostly fishes.


    The flamingos were birds that migrated to different parts of the known world every year. They would pass by many places that these land-bound creatures have never seen.


    During their travels, these flamingos would bring back many items that they would like to trade for certain kinds of fish.


    This was a regular occurrence at the settlement. It had become a neutral zone for different creatures to come and trade with aquatic entities.


    And this place was governed by a council, or something that was similar to it. Perhaps, if Burdo had not left, he may have had the chance to join the council. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This is because four of the five council members were all one of the first animals to find those high-level aquatic creature corpses.


    The government style was crude, filled with loopholes that allowed all sorts of exploitation and corruption, but it got the job done, and that''s enough.


    "Pay the tax," Another voice resounded out at this time, "If you don''t pay the tax, don''t you dare step foot on this beach."


    Those words were blatant and disrespectful, but no one frowned, they could only bow their heads.


    The flamingos remained in the sky, flapping their wings with a sorry expression, they didn''t dare to land.


    One of the flamingos, a large one, flew forward, "Ah, Zed and Zod, the famous cheetah brothers, long time!"


    Down below, two humanoid men stood side by side. They each looked identical and had black tear marks running down their cheeks.


    One of them had a playful grin on his face as he stared at the helpless flamingos, the other simply wore a very serious expression.


    The most peculiar thing about both of them was that they each had an aura that indicated their power levels to be similar to a tier 4 lion.

 Chapter 170 170: Storm Approaching

    Zed and Zod, the two humanoids standing down there in the center of the settlement''s square.


    They both exuded the aura of high-level creatures, causing most creatures to not be willing to get close to them.


    The settlement itself was not ordinary, there was an unholy amount of powerful beings residing within it.


    The amount of creatures that had similar power levels to a tier 3 wolf was alarming, almost forty.


    This force would be enough to destroy most factions in the land, but they didn''t, they couldn''t. It wasn''t like the creatures here were under one overwhelming force of command that would lead them to such feats.


    There were too many creatures from different races, cooperation was different from being neighbors.


    "Zed and Zod, please, permit me to come down so that we can talk about¡­some benefits." The leading flamingo said.


    "Humph," Zed, the brother with a playful smile on his face, scoffed at the bird''s words. Zod, the serious one, simply nodded his head to acknowledge the flamingo''s request.


    "Only you," Zod said.


    The flamingo hurriedly flew down until he landed in front of the two brothers, this way he was able to get a closer look at them.


    Both of them had slim humanoid forms and they were naked. Both had blonde hair with black patches here and there, a reminder of the type of creatures they were.


    The vibe he got from both of them was also very different. Zed, the playful of the two, had golden lightning spark around his shoulders and ankles once in a while.


    Zod, the serious-looking one was subtly releasing a steady stream of cool breeze from his body.


    Their muscles were lean and filled with explosive power, the traits of creatures dedicated to a life of speed.


    These were the Storm Cheetah brothers, a very terrifying duo that spread terror to both the forest and the sea.


    "Your Excellencies, I was thinking, instead of paying the taxes now, why don''t we sell our item and give you ten percent later¡­"


    The flamingo started but was interrupted by a slap to his face. The slap was so sudden and came with so much speed that he could not react immediately.


    The pink feathers on his face had been slapped away and all that was left was his exposed skin in the shape of a palm.


    Zed put down his hand, "I thought you were going to say something interesting," He commented.


    The flamingos still flapping hair wings above the settlement could not help but caw out in protest.


    However, one side glance from Zod was all it took to silence them.


    "Who do these guys think they are?" A tier 2 spirit wolf asked with a disdainful smile on his face.


    "They actually thought they could negotiate with the brothers," A white bear said with mockery on his furry face.


    "Enough about them, can you see the things they are carrying? Is that the tusk of a fire elephant?" A bright red horse with a fiery mane and hooves asked.


    "Seems so, the brothers should settle this quickly. I''ve already seen what I want, I don''t want others to take it before I do," Another person said.


    Of course, these conversations were done in private, away from the minds of the cheetah brothers.


    Still, the fact that carnivores and herbivores could talk like this was phenomenal. At the same time, this relationship was based on strength.


    The horses and other herbivores were simply too strong for the carnivores to think of seeing them as food.


    Meanwhile, the cheetah brothers were still conversing with her flamingo leader.


    "Here''s what''s going to happen, I''ll pick the tax myself. Don''t worry, I won''t be unfair." Zod finally spoke.


    The flamingo could only suppress the pain he was experiencing from that slap and nod his head carefully. At least, it was better for Zod to handle the picking of the ''tax''.


    "I want that, that, that, and that. Add that one, yes, that one. Also, this one over there, and that gem too¡­" Zod pointed at several items being carried by the flying flamingos.


    Many of the flamingos shivered, not believing what they were hearing, why was it their own items that had been chosen, it was not fair.


    But they didn''t complain. Under the urging gaze of the leader, they descended and dropped their items in front of the brothers.


    After some time, the whole ordeal was settled and the flamingos were allowed to land.


    As soon as they touched the ground, many creatures came forth, offering services and trade options.


    Many of these services included mercenary work, refining, networking, and many more. Most of these creatures already knew how their powers worked and were by no means confused.


    They knew how to provide value.


    A few hours later, the two brothers could be seen standing at the shore of the beach. The afternoon sun was just setting in but the breeze here was still cool.


    Their subordinates had already taken care of the ''tax'', they had nothing to worry about.


    This was life, getting everything they wanted without having to chase after it at their top speed. These days, they hunted for fun, not because they were hungry.


    For them, it was almost perfect¡­almost.


    There was a disturbance on her shore as the waves suddenly collapsed and the water became calm. The waters parted away in front of to create a path that led into the sea.


    Zed and Zod simply stared, waiting.


    From the path created in the water, two beings began to walk out of the water. They seemed to be in the middle of transforming into their humanoid forms when they walked out.


    Their arms had fins that were gradually separating into fingers. Their thick grey skin pressed against their bodies l, outlining their muscles.


    One was bigger than the other. The humanoid leading in front had a large build, standing close to three meters in height.


    His arms and legs were thick and his shoulders were very broad. His small eyes were black and white, almost soulless.


    When he laid his eyes on the cheetah brothers, his mouth parted to reveal a row of terrifying razor-sharp triangular teeth.


    Shark teeth, the man had shark teeth. And for some reason, he enjoyed showing them in the form of a smile.


    It was unclear if he was simply happy to see them or was subconsciously threatening them.


    Either way, the two brothers were not moved, they were used to this character already.


    "Aeon, welcome," Zed greeted, not formally, but as though he was talking to his friend or equal.


    This was because the shark man was also giving off the aura of someone with similar power levels to them. That is, he was up there with the tier 4 lions.


    The man behind Aeon looked very similar to him, albeit younger-looking and less interested in what was happening.


    He didn''t smile much but his metallic razor-sharp teeth could be seen as he spat out the water in his mouth.


    "Zed, Zod, how are you? How''s the business?" Aeon asked as he closed in on them.


    He waved his hand behind him, allowing a watery glow to escape his hands. The water pathway closed and the waves returned.


    "Business is fine, I guess. What are you doing here, I thought you were on your way to one of those hunting games you sharks enjoy," Zed said.


    "Yeah, me too, but something came up," Saying this, Aeon''s expression became serious.


    "Remember the strange structure at the bottom of the sea, the reason why the octopuses and squids had been fighting?" Aeon asked.


    Zed and Zod nodded, how could they forget the very thing that was responsible for their current position?


    "Well, there have been reports that the structure has been showing some strange changes.


    Some see it as a sign that the treasures within are about to be released," Aeon said, causing the cheetah brothers to become more serious than usual.


    "Weren''t the squids unsure whether there were actual treasures inside?" Zod asked. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Aeon nodded, "Yes, but recently, the aura coming from the structure has proven that there is indeed something of value inside it.


    The squids and octopuses have seized their killing spree and are silently waiting for the doors to be open before deciding what to do.


    Unfortunately, the sharks are too divided, they can''t come together unless it''s a hunting game."


    "Why are you telling us?" Zod asked, raising one of his eyebrows up. "The ones to benefit are you aquatic creatures,"


    "Bah, you and I both know the water isn''t a barrier for you guys. If you want it, you''d probably go get it by yourself," Aeon said with a hearty laugh.


    His son who stood behind him squinted his eyes, feeling second-hand embarrassment for his father.


    "And there''s words that another faction has joined in. They say a mysterious metal thing flew over the waters this morning, heading straight for the structure.


    It came from the land, Zod, from the land!" Aeon said excitedly as if he already knew the chaos that was to come.


    "Yeah, I saw the metal thing with my own eyes," Aeon''s son said at this moment.


    Hearing this, big Zod and Zed narrowed their eyes. A new dangerous glint appeared in their eyes at the same time.


    Aeon recognized that glint, he knew it all too well.

 Chapter 171 171: Learning To Fly

    Later that day, the afternoon had arrived and the sun hung above the sky. The usual breeze was absent and the heat was creeping up.


    Far away, dark clouds could be seen approaching, they would soon cover the sun and cover the whole mountain in a blanket in a blanket of darkness.


    The leaves and grass blew slightly as the air rushed above the ground. The contrast between the heat from the sun and the air rush from below was very unnerving.


    Many wolves could be seen having their mouths open and their tongues extended out, they were panting like they had not had water for a long time.


    Their lack of sweat glands caused them to have to resort to this to disperser the heat in their bodies.


    Still, something seemed to be happening around the vicinity of the mountain. All the wolves moved in an orderly fashion.


    They moved in groups of two and three, sometimes four, all with a clear destination. They weren''t patrolling, they were just¡­moving.


    It was the same with the foxes, birds, and snakes. The birds who were usually scouting and the snakes who were usually hidden had come out and moved among the rest of the Kingdom''s citizens.


    An undercurrent.


    They could see it in each other''s eyes, uncertainty mixed with eagerness. This was a campaign they had never experienced before.


    While all these preparations were going on, a group of high-level creatures were on the other side of the mountain, getting ready to leave.


    On the side of the mountain that faced the direction of the faraway sea, at the very foot of the mountain.


    "So," Kael said as he looked at the sky, observing the weather, "We should be on our way,"


    He was talking to the three women behind him.


    One was Chloe, with her grey clothes, black wings, and black tail. The second was Eidel, naked and having two tails swinging from left to right behind her.


    The last was Ruda, who looked exactly like Eidel in facial structure. The only difference was her short pink hair and purple tail swerving behind her.


    Eidel and Ruda had already been filled in on everything that happened while they were away hunting.


    Added to the scolding they had received from Kael, they were not in a good mood. Occasionally, they glanced at Chloe with hatred clear in their eyes.


    Chloe could only try her best to ignore them, she didn''t understand how she was supposed to survive as a pride member among these people if they all hated her.


    At least, she was fortunate that Katari wasn''t available¡­


    Kael twisted his neck from left to right, massaging his shoulders and stretching his legs.


    Then, he began to transform. Once again, the limiter in his body was removed and he reached his full power. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He stood on all fours in front of the three women, exuding an aura of majesty and authority.


    Chloe blinked, now that Kael stood there in his true form, she was able to appreciate his beauty.


    As a lioness, she was naturally more attracted to the lion form than the humanoid form. She wasn''t like Kael who was a reincarnated human and leaned more toward the humanoid forms.


    Kael''s golden fur, added with his dark gold mane, would make him an eye candy for all lionesses in heaven.


    Chloe even suspected that Alora, her cold-hearted best friend, would be moved by the sight of Kael.


    Just when she thought she had seen everything, Kael did something that completely blew her mind.


    Two bulges appeared on Kael''s back, close to his shoulders. The bulges kept growing and squirming like something was about to burst out.


    And indeed, something burst out.


    Two golden wings grew out of Kael''s back, each large and composed of beautiful feathers.


    Not just Chloe, even Eidel and Ruda had their mouths open in surprise. They already knew that Kael could borrow their powers, but didn''t know that he could borrow Chloe''s powers. Only now did they realize that Kael had added Chloe to the pride.


    Kael turned around, flexing his shoulders and feeling the new appendages in his back. He felt that he could easily retract the wings if he wanted to, just the way he could do with the horns and extra tail.


    He focused on the two wings, causing them to move slightly. It was a weird feeling.


    At the same time, he could feel his metal bones temporarily becoming hollow, like a bird''s. His whole body was adjusting to accommodate the power of the Air Lion.


    Feathers sprouted from his skin and mixed in with his mane, giving him an exotic feeling.


    Kael felt himself becoming lighter, his whole body weight seemed to have been cut off slightly, making him feel a bit tipsy and taller.


    Another thing Kael noticed was his vision, it had become significantly clearer. Truly, the Air ions had the best eyesight among all the lions.


    His golden irises stretched and became more pronounced, having rings in different shades of gold. His eyes had become mesmerizing.


    A casual glance and most people would just assume that his eyes were still regular gold, only upon closer observation would they notice its peculiarity.


    Kael blinked his eyes, allowing the glow to return and overshadow the change, his eyes had become more beautiful and captivating.


    "Come on Chloe, show me how you do it," Kael said, bringing Chloe and the two sisters out of their thoughts.


    Kael stretched his wings to the limit, revealing a wingspan of thirty feet, this was far more than Chloe''s wingspan which was just twenty-five feet.


    Kael, in his lion form, stood at a height of nearly six feet; he would be seven feet if he activated his War State. Normally, he had a body length of ten feet, excluding his tail.


    A wingspan of thirty feet was very reasonable and realistic for Kael. Each wing stretched to a length of fifteen feet.


    As Kael stretched his wings, a gust of wind magically blew out from his body, blowing the hair of the three women.


    Chloe immediately transformed into her lioness form, followed by Eidel and Ruda.


    Still compared to Kael, their forms looked pale and unremarkable.


    Kael looked at Chloe, he was aware of their thoughts, he was aware of his own awesomeness, he just refrained from feeding his ego.


    Chloe could feel Kael''s gaze on her body, "Wait, you want to learn how to fly? now?" She asked, surprised.


    Kael nodded, "Yes, all you have to do is demonstrate, I''ll copy you," Kael stated.


    Perhaps for a regular natural-born Air Lion, it would take them some time to learn how to fly with their wings, but for Kael who had the muscle control of the War Lions and the analytical mind of a Magus Lion, such a thing was easier.


    Kael was tempted to just force his way into Chloe''s mind and extract all the information he needed, but that came with harmful consequences. He was still unsure if he would need her in the future.


    After all, he originally wanted one of each lion species as his consorts, now he finally had an Air Lioness. If he killed Chloe, he didn''t know when next he would find another Air Lioness.


    For now, he simply didn''t know whether she could be an asset or a liability. If not that Priya had suggested adding her to the pride, Kael might have just killed her long ago.


    "Oh, okay," Chloe said skeptically. Still, she had seen a lot of weird things happening today, it wouldn''t be weird if Kael kept on giving her more surprises.


    Chloe spread her wings, revealing her own wingspan of twenty-five feet. She flapped them slightly, causing powerful gusts of wind to spread out.


    She ascended into the sky, one flap at a time. Kael watched her carefully, his pupils shrank and expanded as he meticulously observed every motion Chloe made.


    Then he flapped his large wings, causing more winds to blow the surroundings.


    He flapped once to get used to the feeling and flapped the second time to prepare himself. When he made the third flap, his front paws left the ground slightly.


    Kael used his hind legs to push himself off the ground. Soon, his whole body was above the ground, going up and down.


    The trees were bent back and the grasses were being scattered around. Kael could not control the new power over Air and this resulted in him damaging his surroundings.


    Chloe was surprised by this, she could see that Kael was mimicking the way she took off from the ground. His clumsiness with using the power of Air didn''t excuse the fact that he succeeded on his first try.


    Kael continued copying Chloe as they slowly flew away from the mountain. Eidel and Ruda looked at each other, a short private agreement was made between them before they chased after Kael on the ground.


    Only two people had been present to see the four of them leave. The two were Priya and Zabita who stood close to the mountain peak.


    Zabita had her usual lazy gaze as she gazed at the horizon while Priya had her shoulders slumped as she released a sigh.