The lioness looked up at him with eyes full of anger and pain. She wanted to pounce on him, but the other two lionesses held her back and pulled her away. They went together to the cubs, leaving the Dark Lion alone with his wounds and anger.
....
There were flashes of lightning sweeping through the area, striking trees and hills. Yes, it was Seferoth.
"Man, this is tough. This is the twenty-third tree I've broken," Seferoth said as he collided with another tree, trying to maintain his composure.
"But I'm making remarkable progress. I can stop at long and medium distances now. I want to master stopping at short distances before heading to the forest for training," he added, looking at the broken trees around him.
Seferoth continued training his skill for a while, destroying the surroundings with his immense speed.
"Finally, I mastered it," he said proudly after two hours of intense training, having achieved the ability to stop at short distances at will.
"Ah, now it's time to train in the forest. I've got a long day ahead," Seferoth rested briefly before flying to the forest to practice at zero distance, where he would dodge in a fraction of a second.
After some flying, he reached a suitable area and landed there. Without wasting much time, he decided to start his training.
He activated "Lightning Speed" and felt the discharge occurring inside his body. Lightning flashes moved quickly between the trees as Seferoth wanted to move at full speed without breaking anything or affecting the environment around him.
But this was impossible, as Seferoth had broken about 50 trees since he started moving.
"This is tough. I want to move smoothly without using 'Quick Mind'," Seferoth sighed, trying to think of a way to improve his performance.
"Let's get back to training," Seferoth stood up and returned to his training, breaking trees. He felt the passage of time and its weight on his body, but his determination was strong.
As Seferoth trained, the sun set and made way for the moon. The sky began to turn orange and pink, and the sounds of nature started to quiet down.
"Finally, I'm done. I can now use 'Lightning Speed' like I use 'Quick Mind,' although not perfectly but close enough," Seferoth said wearily, having trained until the evening. He felt very tired but was satisfied with his progress.
"Alright, let's go home. I'm exhausted from today's training. I'll go back and sleep, and tomorrow I'll face the water crocodile. Then only the fiery falcon and the winged tiger will remain," he spoke quietly to himself.
After saying this, Seferoth flew back home, enjoying the cool night breeze touching his tired body.
At the same time, a black lion full of wounds was running through the swamps. Despite his injuries, they didn't affect him much. After some running, he reached a large lake and stood before it, roaring, "Aquacrook, I know you're here. Come out."
After the lion's roar, there was no response, as if no one was in this large lake. After a minute of waiting, the response he was expecting came.
"What do you think you're doing, Nuyron? Coming and shouting in my home as you please, do you think I won't kill you?" A giant crocodile with a light blue color like the sky emerged and said coldly.
"As usual, you talk bigger than yourself. Come out of your hole first before you say words you're not ready for," Nuyron said, trying to show courage he didn't possess.
"Shut up, Nuyron, and say what you want," Aquacrook replied angrily.
"I want you to help me kill someone," Nuyron said, showing an intent to spill blood.
"Wow, what made you show this thirst for blood? Oh, you're even injured, I didn't notice. Even so, why should I help you? Why make a new enemy for myself?" Aquacrook answered with mockery and indifference.
Nuyron: "Even so, he will come to kill you."
"Why? He and I have no enmity. Why would he want to kill me?" Aquacrook replied with confusion.
Nuyron: "He wants to kill all the leaders of the core area."
"Oh, do you think I'm a fool? Then why are you alive if it's as you say, you should be dead now. Also, why don't you go to that foolish bird Ignis, or even the leader Ravinder," Aquacrook replied mockingly.
Nuyron: "I'm alive thanks to that fool, you know my old friend the purple bear."
Aquacrook replied mockingly: "Yes, that coward, he's like you, you were truly similar friends."
Nuyron: "Say what you want, I'm alive because of him, I'm alive because that fool was his friend."
Aquacrook: "Even so, you don't come and suggest that I help you kill him. I know your cowardly nature. If you were really defeated and he didn't kill you as you said, you would just hide, not come to me and remind me that you're not that nice."
Nuyron: "Yes, in normal times I would hide and wait for him to kill you all, but..."
Aquacrook: "But what?"
"Because of him, my wives fled far away, and his humiliation of me, I won't forget," Nuyron replied, showing his intent to kill.
Flashback a few hours earlier:
The largest lioness was angry because of her husband's behavior. After thinking deeply about it, she looked at the other lionesses and pointed to a distant place. The lionesses understood the meaning of the gesture and went to the place.
The lion noticed their movements, but he didn't care, as his entire focus was on treating his wounds.
After the lionesses reached the place, the smallest lioness asked the largest lioness: "What do you want, Salsabeel?"
Salsabeel said determinedly: "I want to escape from under Nuyron's hand and take the cubs with us."
The middle lioness asked, noticing she no longer called him her husband: "And how do you want to escape from him? You know he's strong."
"Yes, but you forget something, Yara, he's now injured and won't notice us, as his focus is on treating his wounds," Salsabeel replied.
The smallest lioness asked: "So what's your plan?"
Salsabeel said: "Yara and I will say we're going hunting to feed the cubs and cause a commotion, and you, Aurora, will stay here. When we start causing the commotion, he will go to see the commotion himself, and then we won't be here, and you'll take care of the cubs. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Yara and Aurora replied simultaneously.
"Alright, let's begin."
And they waited for the night before starting their plan. Salsabeel and Yara went hunting and didn't return, and Aurora waited for the signal. After a short wait, a loud noise made the lion wake up and look around to see what happened. When he saw the loud noise, he looked around and only saw Aurora and asked her: "Where are the others?"
She replied: "They're still hunting, and I'm here to guard the cubs."
"Tsk, useless. Why all this time just for hunting," Nuyron said angrily.
"I have to do everything myself," he said that and went to see the noise.
When Nuyron moved away, Yara and Salsabeel came out from behind the trees and went to the cubs.
"Finally, you're here. Now let's begin, each one takes a cub in her mouth."
Each lioness took a cub in her mouth, looked at each other, nodded, and set off into the forest. They reached a place close to Seferoth's area.
"This place is good," Salsabeel said.
"Yes, it's far from Nuyron," Yara said.
"I hope he won't find us," Aurora said.
Salsabeel replied: "Don't worry, he won't find us."
Yara asked, puzzled: "Why are you so confident?"
Salsabeel replied: "Because this area is the territory of the beast that defeated Nuyron."
Suddenly, Aurora's screams interrupted them as she pointed to the sky: "Look, is that him?"
Salsabeel and Yara looked at where Aurora was pointing and saw a point flying in the air. When they focused a little, they saw Seferoth returning from his training.
Back to the present:
"Are you convinced now?" Nuyron said defiantly.
"Yes, but you didn't answer my second question, why me?" Aquacrook replied.
Nuyron: "Do you really ask this question? You know Ignis's temperament. If I go to him, he'll say: 'Do you think I'm a coward like you? Let him come to me, and I'll show him real power,' that's what he'll say."
Aquacrook: "Yes, that's what he'll say. Okay, what about Leader Ravinder? Why don't you go to him?"
Nuyron: "I don't dare," he said fearfully.
"Neither do I," Aquacrook shared the same feeling.
Nuyron: "Alright, will you help me or not?"
Aquacrook: "Yes, after all, he'll come to kill me, and we have no enmity between us."
Nuyron: "Alright, let's plan how we'll face him."
Aquacrook listened seriously to Nuyron's plan, and although he doubted his abilities, he realized that facing Seferoth would be challenging and required careful planning.
"Tomorrow is a new day, full of challenges and opportunities," he said quietly to himself, closing his eyes to sleep, ready to face whatever the next day would bring.
Elsewhere in the forest, the lionesses and their cubs slept peacefully, far from Noiron's reach. The night was calm, the moon lighting up the sky, and a sense of security surrounded them.
The lionesses began to feel hope for the future, and with Seiferoth nearby, they felt a sense of safety they hadn't known for a long time.
As the night enveloped the forest in its tranquility and stillness, there was a sense of renewal and energy filling everyone's hearts, ready to face any new challenges that awaited them in the coming days.
───────────────────────────────
"This is the first story, so don't expect much. English is not my first language, so if there are any mistakes, please correct them for me."
"If you want an early access join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMe