Emmanuel_Capricorn
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TLK : Chapter 57
🕑 Added 2025-06-28 17:43:21 +0000 UTC[1st POV]
African Cape Buffalo.
Otherwise known as the 'Black Death' due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature, which is backed up by immense strength and power. They stood proud as one of the few animals with 'fuck you' strength.
Unless a buffalo is aged, juvenile or injured, no predators in the savannah really pose a threat. In rare instances when lions do hunt them, they do so with the whole pride. Even then, the risk of hunting cape buffalo was more than half.
And right now, I am hunting these animals. Either this was the length of bravery or the height of stupidity. The decision would depend on the outcome.
If I succeed, then the world will call it bravery. And if I die, the world would call it stupidity. The line between these two principles was blurry like that, they are two sides of the same coin.
But keeping logic aside, I felt pretty cool about hunting the 'Black Death'. The intention alone was enough to make my blood boil with excitement.
Buffaloes are herd animals. During the wet season, they could travel in numbers of up to thousands. They cover distance slowly as their pace is decided by the weakest member of the herd.
In such numbers, they were more like a natural phenomenon than an animal. They have impacts on the ecosystem as a whole as they act as natural grassmowers and promote new growth. They aerate the lands they pass, acting as natural land tillers to increase fertility. They also create gateways for other animals as they clear forests, increase the size of dying watering holes, etc.
But that was beside the point.
During the dry season, the herd could not exist in such huge numbers so they splintered into small groups instead. These small groups can cover more ground and distance in search of both food and water.
This makes them more vulnerable during the dry season than they were in the wet season. If lions were to hunt buffalo, this would be the best time to do so.
It's almost hilarious how nature can be so coincidentally perfect. When it takes one opportunity, it gives another.
It did not take long to track down one such small group of buffalo with the help of Grim. In no time, I could see the giant animals grazing in the distance.
At that point, I came to a stop and observed the herd with analytical eyes.
Soon enough, Grim flew down and sat beside me. Without looking away, I asked the vulture for more detailed information about the herd.
That was Grim's role, he was my scout. My eyes and ears are in the sky.
"How many?"
"24 in total," Grim answered, "10 are adult females, 6 are calves, 4 are juveniles and the rest are bachelors."
"I think some of the females are ready to conceive because the males were very aggressive," he added.
I hummed in acknowledgement. I eyed the formation of the herd and saw some thoughts put into that. So I asked, "Their position?"
"The calves and juveniles, along with their weakened mothers are at the centre of the herd. They are protected from all sides, the bachelors in particular seemed to be dying to prove themselves and protect the herd from dangers." Grim said.
"I see."
I stood up and walked around the herd to get a better view of the situation. With the information provided by Grim, I knew what to look for and I was not completely clueless.
I did not bother stalking them and hindering my own view because that was useless. When the buffalo saw me, they did not even react. There was not even the tiniest flinch, as if I were completely harmless to them.
I laughed. They were literally treating me like some stray cat.
"Are there other animals in the vicinity?" I asked, to which Grim shook his head.
"It would appear that this particular herd is currently out looking for food, but they are slowly moving back to the watering hole in the distance. No other animal for a mile at least," the vulture said while flapping his wings. He often did that when he was pleased with his own competence.
"Okay then," I said and came to a stop.
The gears in my head turned and popped out a strategy. It should be mentioned that whenever this happened, I always came up with innovative or effective plans, considering my lion brain, of course.
...
"Let's hunt one of the bachelors," I said and then pulled back with narrowed eyes as if disgusted by the words.
It sounded even stupider when I said it out loud.
"The bachelors.....as in the adult males that are the biggest, most aggressive and with the longest horns?" Grim asked to which I answered after a short pause.
"Yes,"
"I see," Grim said and nodded as if understanding my reason. He turned his head towards the herd, looked at the bachelors for a while, before he turned to me and asked again.
"I know it's not my place to ask since I am the servant here, but why the bachelor? Why not the calves or the subadults? On second thought, why not those two females who are clearly old and aged? Better yet, why not any other member of the herd besides the bachelors?!" he asked, his voice started calm but he sounded aggravated by the end.
I threw on a knowing smile and looked at him before I moved again without a reply. I need not explain everything to him, he will watch and learn soon enough.
This time, I moved even closer to the herd. I was starting to invade their space and immediately, eyeballs turned to me. This time, it was not a curious glance or eyes with disregard.
They were looking at me, wondering what I was up to. They knew that I was close enough to launch an attack but the fact that I was alone seemed to confuse them greatly since lions mostly hunt them together. Some even looked around in search of other lions.
Before long, I got the undivided attention of the four bachelors. The rest of the herd still stared but they were not as focused as the males.
"Perfect," I muttered to myself while I continued to circle them.
The sun was shining hot in the sky, and a few vultures that were under Grim circled in the sky to spread a tension of foreboding. The wind held its breath in that moment, everything was vivid and clear.
Ever so slowly, I tighten the circle and chase them into a tight space. They did not try to run but no one wanted to be close to a predator either.
Until eventually, they were backed into a tight invisible circle, and they reached their limit. One of the bachelors huffed loudly, a strong gust escaping his nose.
And then he charged at me.
I stopped circling and turned to face him. My lips peeled themselves to show rows of sharp teeth made to tear flesh, and my ears pulled back to show aggression.
Let the hunt begin.
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Author : I wrote one big chapter for the hunting part and wanted to make that two chapters. This is the only reasonable end for one chapter, so this one is a little short.
The next chapter will be longer in return and I will post it soon after I proofread everything.
