The Evolutionary Path of the Lion

Chapter 88 The Lion's Roar

The slit-mouthed creature stood still for twenty seconds, its old scar at the corner of its mouth twitching upwards as if it were gritting its teeth. Then it let out a short, high-pitched cry, sharp as a needle slicing through the air—a signal of attack.

The pack of hyenas behind them moved instantly.

About fifteen heads split off from the left, circling eastward in an arc, while ten heads simultaneously split off from the right, squeezing westward, forming a standard pincer attack. The dark shadows slowly closed in the morning light.

Twenty meters to the northeast in the grass, Stray A was already lying there, only his wary eyes showing.

When the fifteen hyenas circling on the east side advanced to within twenty meters, they suddenly collided with the low growl coming from the front of the stray armor. The voice was hoarse and carried an undeniable intimidation. At the same time, Chen Fei flicked his finger and turned off his aura disguise.

The aura of a lion emanated from him like a tidal wave.

The fifteen hyenas were thrown into complete disarray the moment the lion's aura surged in. The two at the front stopped abruptly, while the ones behind couldn't stop and crashed into each other, piling up in a heap. Their panicked cries exploded like a hornet's nest that had been poked.

The pincer attack from the east has been broken.

The split-mouthed head suddenly turned to the east, a hint of anxiety flashing in its yellow-green eyes.

Chen Fei seized the opportunity, took three steps forward to increase the distance between himself and the one-legged man, stood up straight, and faced the gaping mouth head-on.

The split-mouthed creature suddenly turned its head back, and the two gazes collided in mid-air, forty meters apart, facing each other directly, the tension in the air almost freezing.

The creature let out another long cry, this time deeper, rolling out from the bottom of its throat, with a lower frequency than before, making the grass on the ground tremble.

The hyenas at the rear began to tighten their formation, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Chen Fei mobilized the heat within his body, sending it upwards from his limbs, over his shoulders, around his neck, and finally converging into his throat. The sensation of the heat gathering in his throat was peculiar; unlike the outward expanding pain that covered his limbs, it was a compressive feeling of inward contraction, as if a ball of fire was being slowly compressed in his throat, becoming denser and denser, its temperature rising until it scalded his throat slightly.

Chen Fei had never used a hot liquid in his throat.

But he knew what it was: the roar of a lion.

He pulled back half of the heat in his throat, pressing it down to the bottom of his throat cavity, like a fire waiting to be ignited, not in a hurry to release it.

The slit-mouthed horde had advanced to within forty meters of the ridgeline, and the ten hordes circling on the left were regrouping, their hooves kicking up dust.

The one-legged creature's breathing rate increased significantly, with its nostrils opening and closing.

Chen Fei glanced at it: the compensatory gait of the one-legged right forelimb was more obvious when the center of gravity shifted forward, the right shoulder slumped slightly, the scar of the severed limb was taut, but the foot was still firmly planted on the ground, showing no intention of retreating.

The old lioness lowered her head even further, bent her forelimbs, and assumed an attack stance, her mane standing on end.

The young lioness immediately followed, lowering her body and perking up her ears, watching the approaching pack of hyenas warily.

Fifty against four, plus the wandering armor only makes five. The difference in numbers is like a mountain, impossible to ignore.

It took its second step with a snarl, the thud of its hoof landing was exceptionally clear.

Chen Fei glanced down at the approaching dark figure from the south, his throat filled with a burning sensation that made his tongue tremble.

The front of the formation began to accelerate, at a speed between marching and charging. Hyena packs always understood this trick; this speed could maintain their formation and unleash maximum impact force at the moment of head-on contact, causing the black figures to surge forward like a tide.

Chen Fei pulled his hind legs back, his body weight sank heavily backward, his tail was pressed extremely low behind him, and the muscles in his back were taut. This was the most standard preparatory posture for a lion before it roared, with every inch of muscle gathering power in the same direction, its strength like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

The speed of the split mouth was noticeably slower, and a hint of fear flashed in its yellow-green eyes. It recognized the posture; it was the intimidation of the lion king.

Chen Fei took a deep breath and forcefully pushed the hot liquid that had been pressing in his throat out. In that instant, even he himself did not fully anticipate what kind of storm that sound would unleash.

"roar--"

The roar erupted from the depths of the lion's throat, the heat carrying a rough, gritty sensation that accelerated its impact. The resonance of the sub-adult male lion's throat made his jaw tingle, cleaving through the cool morning mist, sweeping across the shoved grass on the south side, causing the ears of the hyena at the front of the snarling line to snap back, before crushing over the forty-odd black shadows still shrinking behind it.

The front of the hyenas with their fangs suddenly stopped, their front paws slamming into the ground as they landed, their nails digging out fine grains of sand. The momentum from the back of their bodies propelled the front half forward, causing the three hyenas to pile up into a heap, with the others crashing into them one after another. The right side of the formation was torn open as if by tearing paper, with muffled thuds of colliding joints mixed with short, startled cries from the hyenas.

Its gaping mouth didn't recede; instead, it lowered its head, ears flat against its earlobes, nostrils flaring rapidly but unable to smell anything. Three seconds later, it slowly raised its head, locking onto Chen Fei again. The confusion in its eyes vanished completely, replaced by something familiar yet difficult for Chen Fei to define.

It is not fear, nor is it surrender.

Not right.

The bushes rustled, and Big Head burst out from the bushes on the north side, its heavy breathing carrying the damp scent of grass. It ran across twenty meters of soft grass and lay down seven meters behind Chen Fei. Its front paws dug into the soil, its belly almost touching the ground, its ears pressed against its head, leaving only its eyes peeking ahead, like a student who had just slipped out of the exam hall, wanting to make up the numbers but also afraid of being called on.

Chen Fei's ears twitched slightly as he caught the faint sound of the creature's claws scraping the dirt behind him, but he didn't turn around.

This idiot, I was guarding my position until the wee hours last night, and he swept me back to sleep with his tail. Now he's followed me here again, even mimicking the League's posture by lowering his body, looking like he's "joining the battle too."

The itching from the old injury on his left shoulder had faded, and there was only a very slight stiffness when his muscles contracted. He was 90% recovered. At this distance, even if a hyena suddenly charged at him, he could create a safe distance within three seconds.

The snarling lion had been watching for a long time, its shadow stretched long in the morning light, swaying slightly on the grass with its breath. Its ranks had been reorganized, but the pace of advance hadn't resumed. The hyenas at the front were pawing at the ground, their anxious growls drifting on the wind. They couldn't smell anything, only heard the roar; the two pieces of information didn't match at all. This sub-adult male lion shouldn't be making that kind of sound.

The slit-mouthed creature was clearly making the same judgment. Each step it took was extremely heavy, its toenails scraping the ground with a soft, rustling sound. It would take two steps, then lower its head, its nostrils flaring even faster, as if desperately trying to dissect the contradictory information before it. One step, then stop; another step, then stop again.

Chen Fei didn't move. The heat in his throat was like a dormant fire, gently warming his trachea. He could smell the pungent, fishy odor of hyenas carried on the wind, mixed with the damp coolness of the morning dew on the grassland. He kept his breath disguise active, the heat waiting in the depths of his throat, and they remained locked in this state for a full two minutes.

The wind on the grassland carried the southern air northward. The muscles of the one-legged right forelimb were taut, the joints trembled slightly, and it shifted its weight from time to time, its hooves grinding the ground with a dull thud. The old lioness's tail was pressed tightly against her hind legs, the tip of which twitched occasionally. The young lioness's chest rose and fell more evenly, but her ears remained firmly pressed against the back of her head, her eyes warily locked on what lay ahead.