Chapter 569: The Big Baddies

"[Reptilian] That's right, little one. We will give those 'big baddies' a lesson they will not forget!" With a bright smile on his face after listening to the little girl, Aiden patted the top of her head.

Meanwhile, he kept most of his attention on the system's interface that floated in front of his eyes, visible only to him. Aiden was keeping a close watch at the approaching force, trying to gain as much information as he could from what little he could make out.

He was more focused on trying to find the leader of this army first and foremost by utilizing his evolved [Dark Sense] skill to the fullest. He swiped through dozens of tooltips in rapid succession. First, he checked the front, the ones leading the march, but as it turned out, those were simple guard captains, nothing important. 

Thus, after wasting away some of his effort in futility, he realized that whoever was the commander, the general, was probably not the true Leader type and lead his men, but instead the other way around, bossing from the safety of the back. 

Aiden didn't actually think that the one at the back would straight up be the High Priest or any of his direct subordinates, and instead, just some figurehead from the Temple Guard leaders. A puppet following the will of the High Priest by the name of the 'Ancient One'.

Yet, finding, locating the enemy general is of the utmost importance. He needed to know his target and make sure that he would safely absorb him to gain his or her memories and hopefully unveil more of the mystery around this sorrowful story.

Due to his lack of understanding of his abilities, a lot of the important key moments, visions, and memories of the old archbishop have gone to waste. Though Aiden understood the general gist of what was going on, there were still many secrets he needed to know.

For example, what happened to Tolliah's mother, Zark's wife? Who was she? Where has she gone to? Was she perhaps a captive of the High Priest? 

Or… was she maybe one of his subordinates, an opponent to them?

'No… I don't think that's true.' He shook his head immediately at the thought. Judging by how the little girl thought of her, Aiden found it impossible for her to be a turncoat, a traitor of the family. Someone so clearly loved by her child, cannot be like that.

Also, what happened between the two friends? From the few bits and pieces Aiden managed to piece together, it was clear that at some point in the distant past the two men, Zark and Zuruk were best of friends, brother's even. 

What happened then? What caused such a rift, such enmity to come between their lifelong friendship? Also, just who was this 'Ancient One'? From the memories, the only thing that came was that this creature was a powerful entity, one of the four guardians of this world. 

Something happened, that caused them to go into an all-out war, which in the end resulted in the supposed destruction of the three of them, leaving this entity be the only one to escape. Even he suffered grave injuries and was also banished to somewhere to the core of this realm where he, she or it should still reside to this very day.

Was the constant looming presence that seemed to be vastly interested in him, this supposed Ancient One, the Traitorous Guardian? Was he the supposed 'God' of these Draconic Skinks?

Lots of questions, there were still a lot of dark spots in the story behind these people. He hoped that the general, the leader of this approaching army of Temple Guards would at the very least shed light to at least some of them.

"[Reptilian] Come, Tolliah, let's go. We have to protect our people." Aiden patted the girl's head, earning a delighted giggle as a result.

"[Reptilian] Yes, Papa! Let's go and protect all the aunties, uncles, and all of my friends! We have to stay strong so that when Mama comes back she can be proud of us!" The little girl exclaimed, balling her tiny fist and raising it in the air. 

For a moment, Aiden felt a sharp pain in his heart. Something she was surprised about, and couldn't explain at all. 

Unfortunately, he had no time to ponder on the meaning of it, as the girl tugged his sleeves again, looking at him, she asked with a thoughtful look.

"[Reptilian] Papa, why don't we go and ask Auntie Dara! Her wooshie-wooshie friends should have some more information about what is going on!"

"[Reptilian] Wooshie-wooshie friends? What are you-"

Confused about what the little girl could have meant, Aiden was about to ask, but luckily one of the guards should have already left to take their stations have rushed back and exclaimed.

"[Reptilian] Sir!" The armored skink heaved heavy sighs. He was running back and forth the camp, he needed a moment to regain some of his lost stamina before he could speak. "Madam Dara has asked you to speak with her urgently! The scouts she sent out have returned with the news!" 

"[Reptilian] Scouts? Ah.. I get it." Aiden smiled, turning to look at the little girl who was still trying to explain with her little hands how this auntie's friends were 'wooshing' around like the wind. He could now understand what she meant. With a bright, warm smile on his face, Aiden caressed the top of the girl's head once again.

"[Reptilian] Tolliah, my dear. You know what you should do, right?" Aiden asked, replacing the smile with a strict, serious look. Though he may have not absolved all the memories, even without them, he was aware of how a loving father like the Archbishop would not have wanted his beloved, dear little daughter to see such a cruel, vicious bloodbath. He should remain as innocent and untainted for as long as she possibly can. 

Tolliah though didn't want to leave his Papa's side, didn't argue much either. With a pout souring her so-far bright, glory of a smile, she nodded at her father's question.

"[Reptilian] Yes. Tolliah knows she needs to go back to her room and stay safe." She responded with a tone that was clear she had experienced in the matter. Still, she couldn't hold herself back and tried to argue in the next moment. "But Papa… I don't want to stay behind… I am already a big girl… I can protect us!"

"[Reptilian] I know that, little one. I know." Aiden patted the girl's head in response. "I know you are a big girl now, but let Papa do this for you for a bit longer, okay? You have to stay safe so that your Mama doesn't need to worry about you. Okay?"

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