Chapter 107 - Crisis
The situation was not optimistic.
However, life had to continue.
The reproduction and survival of lions still needed them to work together.
Catherine brought the water bag in front of Chu Xiaoye.
After Chu Xiaoye drank it, he let Little Curly Tail and Mei Mei drink their fill. Then, he raised his claws and pointed at the distant rocky hill.
He looked at the female cub in front of him and felt that she should understand.
Of course, Catherine understood.
However, she was worried about his safety.
He was injured and could not climb trees. What if that terrifying big cat returned?
Chu Xiaoye looked at the rocky hill that merged into the night in the distance and was worried about Maya and her two newly born children.
In such hot weather and living in a cave, she had not hydrated herself from food for a few days. He did not know if she could make it through.
They had to send the water over as soon as possible.
"Roar!"
He turned around and urged the lioness cub in front of him, signaling her to leave via the gra.s.sland and not walk into the bushes.
Although the female cub was powerful, if she was suddenly attacked by the tiger, she would be KO-ed before she could react.
Seeing his anxiety, Catherine could only pick up the water bag and look at him reluctantly before leaving quickly.
She had to return quickly!
She ran on the gra.s.sland like the wind in the night and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Mei Mei did not dare to sleep again. Instead, she lay in the gra.s.s and faced the bushes at the back, always vigilant.
The pressure that the big cat gave her was too great.
She had never seen such an animal, but she could clearly feel its strength and scariness.
Now, she was the only one left in the camp who could fight.
She had to protect her brother and Little Curly Tail!
Chu Xiaoye fell asleep very quickly.
In his sleep, his two injured front feet trembled unconsciously.
It did not hurt, but it was a little hot.
The night quickly retreated.
After dawn, Chu Xiaoye woke up when the sun rose.
The lionesses and the cold father who had gone out to hunt had yet to return, and Catherine, who had gone to deliver water, was nowhere to be seen.
Chu Xiaoye started to worry.
At this moment.
On the rocky hill, Catherine was looking for Maya and her two children everywhere.
She was anxious.
From last night until now, she had searched the entire rocky hill but did not find them.
She was sure that she did not remember the place wrong.
However, the cave was empty. There was nothing there except the scent of young cubs.
Catherine thought of the tragic fate of Callie and her three children that night and could not help but shiver.
She bit the water bag and walked down the rocky hill under the gradually rising sun, continuing to look into the distance.
She had to find them!
Noon.
Just as Chu Xiaoye was waiting anxiously in the camp, the cold father returned dejectedly with the four female lions.
Not only did they return empty-handed, but they were also riddled with wounds.
The lioness with a broken tail"s tail completely broke off.
Xi"er"s face was covered in wounds and she looked terrifying.
Callie had a deep wound on her abdomen and almost had her intestines dug out.
The bones of Aisha"s hind legs were bitten open.
As for the cold father, his mane was messy and his entire body was covered in signs of an intense battle.
To be able to beat a pride led by an adult lion into such a miserable state, it was naturally another pride.
They walked out of the territory and ran far away to find prey, but they encountered another pride.
A battle immediately broke out between the two sides.
In order to obtain increasingly scarce food and resources, these compet.i.tors were merciless when they fought!
The other party had more members and was led also by a lion king.
Therefore, the pride of the cold father lost and fled.
However, fortunately, none of the members fell behind.
Usually, when two prides fought intensely, there was a high chance that a member of the prides would be bitten to death or even eaten by a hungry enemy.
The cold father looked very dejected. He walked into the bushes not far away alone and lay down.
If he knew that the Seno brothers" pride next door was in a tougher position than theirs, he might feel better.
Chu Xiaoye looked at him silently, then walked to his mother"s side and helped her lick the wound on her leg.
Mei Mei also walked to Xi"er"s side and licked her wounds obediently.
The female lions lay in the shade and lowered their heads with a heavy heart.
Hunger and thirst were one thing, but they were also worried about the future.
The dry season would last for at least four to five months.
Could their pride last?
"Roar!"
Chu Xiaoye turned around and called out to Mei Mei.
Mei Mei looked at him and immediately understood. She hurriedly left her mother and ran towards the Baobab tree.
Little Curly Tail immediately looked up excitedly.
Was their brother finally willing to let them eat meat?
Mei Mei nimbly climbed up the tree, picked up a baboon jerky from the storage room, and threw it down the tree.
"Roar!"
Chu Xiaoye called out again.
Now that the enemy was in front of them and the pride was injured, they had to eat their fill and recover as soon as possible.
Mei Mei immediately took out another baboon corpse from the storage room and threw it down.
Chu Xiaoye continued to scream.
When Mei Mei saw this, she threw down three more in a row.
The cold father and the female lions stood up in shock when they saw this scene.
It turned out that there was actually so much food hidden on the tree!
They raised their heads and looked at the three large ball-like storage rooms. Their eyes shone with excitement.
Could it be that they were filled with food?
"Roar—"
The cold father growled, clearly angry.
Since there was so much food hidden on the tree, why did they not take it out sooner? They were running around, hungry, and injured.
He really deserved to be hit!
The cold father glared angrily at his son and prepared to teach him a lesson.
At this moment, a figure suddenly ran over from the gra.s.sland not far away.
The cold father looked at it and immediately pretended to stretch his back before lying down again.
Chu Xiaoye ignored him and directed Mei Mei to distribute the food.
Although there was a lot of food hidden in the storage room, it was not enough for the pride to enjoy every day.
Even if they ate it every few days, they would quickly finish it.
If he was unlucky and the dry season extended, it would be even worse.
At this moment, many animals were already hungry and buried in the gra.s.sland. Many lions were struggling, and they could not eat for a week or two.
They had only been hungry for a few days. They were much happier than the other prides and animals.
Therefore, Chu Xiaoye could not always give them food from the tree.
After eating this time, he would never take them again unless they had gone hungry for a week or was forced to.
If the pride lost their tenacious will to survive and their diligent hunting spirit, they would only become lazier and weaker and eventually be eliminated.
It was impossible to always think of relying on a cub that was still underage.
They would be degrading themselves.
Just as he was letting Mei Mei distribute the food, Catherine ran back from the gra.s.sland while panting. She stopped in front of him, her dark eyes filled with anxiety and panic.
She did not find Maya and her two children.
Furthermore, she also discovered the feces and smell of hyenas nearby.
Chu Xiaoye"s heart suddenly shrank. His two front palms were faintly hot, as if two streams of heat were about to surge out.
The wound was still a little painful.
He raised his head and looked at the distant gra.s.sland, his gaze bone-chilling.