Cobarte was the first to move, and he leapt right for Lana as his pack followed. He would never make it, as Ni slammed his clawed paw right down on the large canine's head. The dogs faltered for a little bit at seeing their leader be pinned down by the rogue prince, but seeing Cobarte getting the life choked out of him urged one of them to take the risk of distracting their leader's assailant. One young adult sunk his teeth right into Ni's left arm, causing him to release his grip on Cobarte to crush the gutsy dog's skull. Cobarte was now free, and seeing him slide out of harm's way allowed his pack to regain their courage and attack in force. Now Malka and Sefu join the fight, and it is quite clear that the three coordinated fighters together were certainly a match for untrained rabble of 80 dogs. Sefu swung his claws as hard as he could, putting the techniques his father taught him to good use as he slashed any canine that got too close. Ni and Malka paired off, watching one another's blind spots as they fended off the larger, stronger members of the pack.
Of course, some of the smarter dogs simply picked their spot and charged right for the teenaged lionesses. And perhaps that would have been a good plan if Khari, Jezebel and Lana hadn't split up and flanked the remaining dogs with tricky movements and struck with the accuracy and finesse of the huntresses they would eventually become as adults. Granted, the full force of Cobarte's pack was formidable even without any sort of clear organization or strategy, and the sheer strength of numbers made the fight tiresome and tedious for the young lions and their one canine friend.
Cobarte saw an opening. Lana was beating one of the omega males, and Cobarte had noticed that she couldn't see him sneak up to her. He remembered Iago's orders, yet at the moment all he could think about was the embarrassment that Ni caused him as he pinned the unusually large dog down with one paw. As soon as Lana was done with the omega male, Cobarte seized the opportunity to sink his teeth into the back of Lana's neck. The dark princess let out a plaintiff wail of pain, which made Cobarte chuckle with amusement at his handiwork.
However, as he watched her fall to the ground, he failed to register that the powerful roar that had sounded after hearing Lana's cry of distress was much closer to him than originally thought. And the source was the mute, yet quite large for his age, blonde prince. Cobarte barely had any time to react before Sefu's teeth were around his head and he found himself under the very angry teen. As Sefu rained heavy blows onto Cobarte's face, the coyote-like canine suddenly felt the power gap between a dog and a lion that no amount of size could ever close. He was fully prepared for the end, as at the moment he saw no escape.
But, fortunately for the alpha male of the pack, another moment arrived, and with it an opportunity for escape. Some of the remaining dogs leapt onto Sefu's back, and the silent prince promptly kicked out and snapped both their necks with one paw each. However, this momentary distraction was all Cobarte needed to get from under the wrath of Mato's son and sprint away in retreat. Seeing their leader flee, the dogs that could still stand follow in the withdrawal, leaving their wounded and battered to an uncertain fate. The battle was over, and on this day the dogs would be denied.
However, as soon as Sefu was sure the assailants were gone, he turned his attention to Lana. She was getting back up, though the back of her neck was bleeding and she was clearly being affected by the blood loss. He hugged her, placing his paw on the back of her neck hoping to stem the bleeding, though he wondered if that was necessarily helping either. "Sefu, you…" Lana started speak her gratitude, but her eyes rolled as she turned to face him, and he was able to catch her as she fell. Sefu put her on his back, and began to race into the western direction.
"Hey! W-wait up!" Ni called out, as he was followed by Malka, then Khari and finally Othello. Magnus, however, couldn't muster up the will to follow them. He turned around, seeing the broken and battered canines strewn about. Those poor fools, Magnus thought as he checked for any signs that they would survive their injuries. Unfortunately, all 17 dogs strewn about were in conditions that a mercy kill couldn't come quick enough. As Magnus saw one teenaged female attempt to push her innards back into her stomach, he grimaced and averted his eyes.
Damn you lions and your petty grudges!