บท 23: Chapter 23: Camouflage

Kael'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.

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.