OBS Chapter 273 Farewell
Chapter 273 Farewell
Chapter 273 Farewell
Li Ang considered it for a moment and said, "Then let's do it tomorrow."
With the business settled, the atmosphere relaxed a bit. Li Ang said to August and Sherry, "Since we're leaving tomorrow, I'd like to formally say goodbye to the friends I've made here tonight. Lillian and Mia—if it's convenient for them, I'd also like to sincerely invite you both to join me."
A hint of surprise flashed in August's eyes, which quickly turned into a gentle smile: "It is my honor to be regarded as a friend by Lord Li Ang, and I will definitely be there."
Sherry nodded, her expression gentle, and said, "I will inform Lillian and Mia. As for the location? Your Majesty can have it at the best restaurant in the city—"
"No need." Li Ang shook his head, recalling his experience with the beastmen, and said, "Formal occasions would only make them awkward; they'd be more relaxed with friends."
Shirley smiled knowingly. "I understand what you mean. How about the Laurel Tavern? Although it's in the commoners' district, the ambiance is quite nice, and the prices are cheap. The drinks are so-so, but His Majesty's manor has no shortage of alcohol. The owner is a half-elf, and he's fairly friendly towards orcs. Although most of the customers are elves, everyone gets along—at least superficially."
"Sounds pretty good," Li Ang said with satisfaction.
August laughed, "Then it's settled. See you at the Laurel Tavern tonight."
After seeing August and Sherry off, Li Ang looked at Eve: "Mentor, there's still some time before evening. I'd like to go back to the library. I have an idea about those rubbings that I'd like to verify."
"What about those unidentifiable symbols?" Eve immediately understood Leon's meaning and continued, "I've reviewed all the identifiable documents over the past few days, but haven't found any new clues. The only thing that might contain unknown information is indeed those rubbings. Do you have a way to decipher them?"
Li Ang nodded, showing off the [Spiritual Ring] on his hand and explaining, "It was a gift from my orc friends here. I'm going to try and see if I can decipher it."
So the two of them went to the library again, and Li Ang went straight to the table where the ancient rubbings were kept.
In the past few days, after upgrading his core equipment to LV50 with the help of the Wisdom Mark, he also upgraded the [Spirit Ring] to the same level.
Li Ang focused his gaze on the stone rubbings, which were painted with strange and distorted symbols and had severely broken lines.
The marks that were previously incomprehensible under the [Lingxi Ring LV10], resembling scribbles, began to distort and recombine under the powerful deciphering ability of the [Lingxi Ring LV50], eventually turning into scattered fragments of information that flooded into his consciousness.
However, the rubbing itself was too severely damaged. Even if Li Ang could decipher it at this point, he could only capture a few fragmented keywords: "--covering the sky and sun--endless--alien--swarm--devouring--cycle--".
Although the information is fragmented and lacks context, when put together, it points to a chilling possibility.
"How is it?" Eve asked.
Li Ang nodded, repeated the deciphered words, and offered his speculation: "I'm wondering, could the so-called 'end' be some kind of 'alien swarm' that devours civilization?"
Eve pondered carefully for a moment, combining the keywords, and said, "It is indeed possible. However, if 'the End' truly has a physical form, it might be a good thing, better than fighting against an ethereal 'fate' or 'rule.' Having a physical form means it can be observed, studied, and—defeated."
"That's right." A glimmer of hope appeared in Li Ang's eyes. "At least we have a more concrete direction to deal with this."
In the evening, Shirley arrived at the manor on time to greet Leon and Eve. Led by Shirley, Leon and Eve walked through the noble district where they lived and entered the more down-to-earth commoner streets.
The signboard of "Laurel Tavern" features a crescent moon encircling laurel branches, radiating a soft glow in the darkening sky.
As you push open the door, a fragrant aroma of wine and vegetable salad wafts out. The hall is quite spacious, furnished with dozens of exquisite wooden tables and benches. At this moment, there are about three or four tables of elven guests in the restaurant. Just as Shirley said, although they showed some surprise when they saw Shirley and Leon, no one made a fuss or said anything rude.
The boss was a friendly-looking middle-aged half-elf. He simply nodded respectfully to Sherry and pointed to the stairs going up.
The private room was on the second floor. As soon as we pushed the door open, we found that August, Lillian, and Mia had already arrived. The two of them were sitting on the bench opposite August.
The atmosphere inside the room was subtly tense. Mia sat upright, her tail tightly curled to her side, her ears slightly pressed back, and her pale yellow vertical pupils occasionally glanced at August before quickly looking away.
Lillian stood with her hands folded on her knees, motionless like a statue. The room was eerily quiet. Clearly, even though they had accepted the true identity of the Great Cave Master, being alone in the same space with an elf still made them instinctively feel restrained and uncomfortable.
Fortunately, Li Ang's arrival broke through this invisible layer of thin ice.
"Li Ang!" Mia practically jumped up, rushing to Li Ang in a few steps, her fluffy tail suddenly spreading out as if it were about to reach the sky.
"You've finally arrived!" She grabbed Li Ang's arm and led him to the seats next to her and Lillian.
Lillian visibly relaxed, stood up, and gave Leon and Eve an elegant nod: "You must be Ms. Eve. It's an honor to meet you."
Eve nodded, acknowledging her identity, but she was clearly not used to this occasion and seemed somewhat at a loss.
Li Ang was seated in the middle of the bench by Mia, while Eve sat on his other side. Lillian, who had been sitting on the same side as Mia, naturally got up when she saw that there were no empty seats and went to sit down next to Sherry. Mia looked at Lillian apologetically and then sat down in her previous seat.
So the seating arrangement changed to Li Ang, Mia, and Eve in one row, with Sherry, Lillian, and August opposite them. The invisible barrier between them gradually melted away due to the rearrangement of the seating and the addition of Li Ang.
The dishes were served quickly: large pieces of roasted ribs, a small mountain of sausages, a whole spiced roasted chicken, a large plate of bay leaf salad, and bread with a crispy crust. The wine was a large barrel of wine that August had brought from his estate.
It must be said that alcohol is an excellent lubricant; after a few glasses of fine wine, the initial restraint quickly dissipated.
Mia reverted to her lively nature and began chattering about how brave she and Lillian were on the battlefield. Lillian smiled and explained that it wasn't as exaggerated as Mia made it out to be; her pale golden eyes appeared even softer under the influence of alcohol.