Chapter 412: Thuk (1/2)
From the shadows, a unique-looking, slightly taller Skink came forward.
Unlike the rest, this one had much larger, oversized yellowish eyes, at the top of his head, a crest of large, beautiful deep red feathers draped down. Whilst not exactly similar, it vaguely resembled a mohawk.
The creature was slightly taller than its brethren, its wrinkled skin was initially dark, which as soon as it stepped into the light, changed its color matching the dark brown, muddy gradient of its surroundings.
He was holding onto a cane, that was more of a short snapped gnarled branch of a tree than a proper walking aid. Despite its height, his physique wasn't as developed as his kin, he seemed much more fragile, much weaker than the little devils around it.
As he slowly trudged forward, using his stick, he was also actively leaning against his much thicker tail which was curled up behind his back and was like a makeshift chair, or back stand to support his back.
Despite his aged, frail presence, the rest of the skin horde was clearly reverent and respectful towards this elder. Although the pressure kept them plastered on the ground, for the first time, they battled, fought against it, to raise their gazes and be able to steal a glance at this peculiar figure.
Under the shocked and bewildered gazes of the human group, the feathered elder slowly sauntered towards the glowing-eyed dominant entity in their midst. His expression, his demeanor, his presence showed no fear and no hostility. On the contrary, as his jawline curled up, he donned a thin smile on his face, the team felt admiration and pure happiness from him.
Seconds slowly turned into a full minute before the elderly lizard man finally stopped in its tracks only a meter of a distance away from Aiden. For the next few seconds, both figures gazed at each other. Without showing any fear and falter they matched each other's gazes. The elderly lizard kept his calm, composed happy outlook whilst Aiden showed the same, similar dominant, slight arrogance on his face.
The pressure of his aura, although eased up slightly, so the small creatures wouldn't be crushed to their deaths and pressured into meatloaves, still kept them lying on the ground. At the very least they could not raise their heads and look at their elder as the silent, but the tense battle of mental fortitude continued on.
Eventually, after around a minute the elderly lizard acquiesced and lowered his gaze to the ground. Soon after, to the shock of every eye present, be it humans or lizardfolk, the elder bent his knees, and whilst keeping his best to rely on his short stick so as to not fall down completely, he knelt in front of Aiden.
His jaw opening, a hissing sound came from his gargled throat, before the creature gave a light cough and to yet another round of shock to Aiden and the gang it spoke using the common tongue.
”Wessss greetssh youssh oh Inheritorsssh of the Ancient Onessh!”
Even though it was quite rough, it was still manageable, they could roughly understand what he was saying.
Raising his eyebrow, Aiden looked at him with rising interest. This strange figure has actually grown intelligent enough to understand and even reciprocate human speech. No matter how you looked at it, this was not just simply surprising, it was a groundbreaking feat!
These skinks were considered monsters by almost everyone in the world. They were known for their slightly higher intelligence that made them capable to act out specific roles whilst in a group and hunt with great success rates, and also live in what was at most referred to as a primitive tribe, or gathering.
Still, from the small interaction, Aiden and the rest had with these creatures, they were nothing like what the news had told them. In fact, Drake was the most shocked of them all, as he had been down in these sewers once, and even culled a few dozen of them before returning to the guild and cashing in his just rewards.