[1st POV]
(1 month later)
After taking down my first buffalo, I took nearly five days off due to the sheer volume of the food I ate and because of the fatigue I got after the hunt.
Although I suffered barely any outer injuries, Inside I was quite a mess. I guess I even tore some of my muscles in my sheer effort during the hunt. Not to mention the internal injuries I suffered from being used like a plough by the buffalo.
But after five days of rest, I was ready to hunt once more and hunt I did. My second hunt was much easier than the first since I knew what to expect. The bachelors that I targeted were also much smaller than the one I took down so I was able to succeed without much trouble.
It didn't mean it was easy though, not by a long shot. My life was still very much at risk and the buffalo was still much stronger than me. Every time I hunt, it's a gamble.
It's just that they are so stupid and arrogant. If the hunt was a gamble, then I was playing poker with kindergarten. They had the strength of a buffalo but also the brain of one. They would chase after me without a care for their stamina and tiring them out like that was not a challenge at all.
I would slowly lead them away from the herd and towards a place I scouted beforehand. The place where I led them had many obstacles and the terrain was much more advantageous for me.
By the time we reached there. The buffalo was exhausted at best and he became the helpless victim to the real hunt. At this point the risk on my part had plummeted dramatically as the Buffalo did not even have enough strength to hurt me.
My third and fourth hunts were successful as well. I get better and more efficient every single time I hunt. My strategies improved, my instincts sharpened and my confidence soared.
But then reality hit and unfortunately, I failed for the first time on my fifth hunt.
The main reason for my failure was the relationship between the bachelors. The herd I hunted at that time was smaller than usual, there were 16 members in total, with only two bachelors.
The two males had some kind of brotherhood between them, which was unlike what I've witnessed before where the males were rivals.
They both insisted on chasing after me. I continued with my strategy of trying to lead them away from the herd but neither one of them wanted to leave the other. They worked together as a team and that was my downfall/.
Hunting one buffalo was one thing but hunting two at the same time was another. The situation shifted from a gamble to a death sentence for me, I was not nearly prideful or egoistical enough to continue trying.
But even that failure was just a learning experience. I learned to avoid small herds and learned to observe the relationship between the bachelors before I started my hunt.
When there were more than two males in the herd, it probably meant they were a viable target. You could also tell how close they were from their body language if you looked for details,
A whole month quickly passed by like so. I spent my time learning, training and hunting. At this point, I was quite confident in my skills. I was a certified giant slayer.
I hunt down two buffalo a week on average. Although there were times when Grim spotted Impalas or atelopes so I hunt them too on rare occasions. It was nice to get a different flavour of meat every once in a while.
These smaller prey had a much lighter taste to them compared to the buffalo which tasted heavy and reeked of musk. The difference was akin to a steak and chicken but with an even wider difference gap.
"Speak of the devil," I said when I finally saw a small herd of buffalo in the distance.
Right now, I was in the middle of hunting a buffalo once more. The sun was at its height in the sky, it was the middle of noon.
The heat bothered me but I knew it would bother the buffalo even more, which is why I hunted during this time of the day.
It had not been an hour since I set out for the hunt but we had already found a herd. The population of the buffalo was tens of thousands in this region alone, so it was quite easy to find a herd.
I slowed down my pace before coming to a stop when I was not too far away from the herd. Right then, Grim flew down and landed beside me. He flapped his wings in that manner where I knew he was pleased with himself, and he had good information.
"So?" I asked.
"This herd is smaller than the one we hunted last time. 21 of them in total. 7 are females, 5 are calves, 6 subadults and 3 bachelors," Grim said.
He added after a pause, "There are a few animals in the area, a couple of warthogs and three giraffes. Nothing to worry about, though. The designated place is also clear,"
At this point, not only me but Grim had gotten well and efficient with his role in the buffalo hunting. He was very pleased these days since the spoils were plentiful. He did not show this much enthusiasm while hunting other animals.
Which made no sense by the way, since his appetite was limited. It was his greedy nature that was pleased when we hunted buffalo.
"Well done," I said before getting up.
"Always a pleasure to serve you," the vulture replied.
The bachelors were spread as far away from each other as possible on the edge of the herd. That was a clear sign that there was no brotherhood and the bachelors were at odds with each other.
A grin spread across my lips and displayed fangs.
I strode towards the herd like a king picking his meal. That quickly got the attention of the herd and one bachelor came to protect the herd.
It was a young bull, not big enough to weigh a ton. His overwhelming aggression at my simple approach hinted at his lack of wisdom that one gets through age.
This one wouldn't get away.
"Got you," I said and growled.
The bull charged almost immediately.
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(Half an hour later)
Contrary to expectation, a young and inexperienced bull did not mean an easier hunt. In fact, fighting these young aggressive bulls was riskier than hunting older ones.
To put it in simple terms, a young bull was more likely to kill me but the older bull was more likely to escape and survive.
Now, why am I mentioning this?
...
"How much further?!" I asked the vulture flying overhead.
I was full on sprinting and have done so for a whole minute now. Which was rare.
The reason?
An enraged bull was right behind me. He was likely enraged by the fact that I had just blinded him in both eyes.
Although buffalo rely on sight to find their target would react to movement, they use much of their other sense to locate their target as well. It's why they were able to charge at you while having their heads down.
After I took his eyes, I did not move away far enough to exploit the weakness. And now the bull was charging at me without a care in the world. He would probably collapse soon due to sheer exhaustion but he no longer cared about that.
His only goal was to kill the one who took his eyes.
"Almost there!!" Grim replied from above.
I gritted my teeth and increased my effort. I was getting tired as well. Had it not been for my training ,I would've stopped a while ago.
But after almost ten seconds of springing, I finally saw the thing that I was looking for.
A slope.
I led the bull towards the slope and the moment we reached the change in terrain, the bull finally slipped and he had a mighty tumble.
A slope was already bad for a buffalo with eyes, but for a blind on, it was a death sentence. His front hooves extended more than he should and I heard the sound of bones breaking immediately.
I move to the side to dodge the falling giant. His butt was lifted off the ground and he rolled down on the slide. The earth was toren apart by the sheer force and weight.
The heart opened up and a big cloud of dust came to life. I remained in place, panting while I watched the bull fall to his death.
....
"Or maybe not," I said when I heard loud screams of agony coming from the pacle the buffalo crashed.
I took a few more seconds to catch my breath before I walked down to the buffalo. He could not even move anymore. His limbs were twisted in weird ways and his horn was also broken from the fall.
He trashed around in his own skin. I watched him suffer for a few more seconds as his screams slowly dwindled down to painful whispers.
And finally confident that he would not attack back anymore, I ended his misery by biting his neck.
After killing him, I took a short break to catch my breath. Then I began eating on the spot. Another thing about hunting buffalo was that you could not drag them away after killing them.
There was no way of moving a carcass weighing nearly a ton. You had to eat them where they fell.
The vultures circled overhead. They started small, six of them at first. By the time I got to the liver of my prey, their numbers tripled and now there were 18 or so vultures in the sky.
I did not bother counting after that.
I feasted on my kill while the rest of the animals waited. From vultures, wild dogs, and foxes, they knew their place and waited until I was done.
But then one creature stepped out of line.
He announced his presence with a thunderous roar.
ROAR!!!!
It was not just a sound. It was a command, a show of dominance and a declaration of authority forged into the vibration of ego.
Not once. Not twince. But multiple times.
ROAR!!!!
ROAR!!!!
ROAR!!!!
It was not afternoon yet. Meaning it could not have been a simple patrolling of the Mbali brothers. The lion making that sound was coming straight for me, those roars were meant for me.
But at the same time, it was not one of the Mbali brothers. I was certain of that. The roar was not deep or thundering like Baraka's, it was not sharp and tearing like Makali nor was it calm and commanding like Roku's.
Grim who was perched on top of the buffalo carcass, looked towards the direction from which the sound came. He stared for a while before he burst into action and flew towards that direction.
In that moment, I pulled my head out from the inside of the buffalo and stared in the direction as well.
"A new lion," I muttered to myself.
A rogue like me.
..
..
[Image of our opp]
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Author : Monday is always certain double chapter because we have been reaching goals every time.
So let's increase it this time. 650 for extra chapter. Is that even feasible?