The statue is more than ten meters tall and is the image of a tall man, whose face is not visible because he wears a red turban and mask, and behind him is a red cloak raised high.

This is another unique feature of this statue, whether it is his red turban or cloak, it is not painted red with paint, but the color of the material itself in which the statue is sculpted, while the rest of the parts are normal blue-gray.

I just don't know if this stone is naturally formed, or if someone has shaped it with stone plastic.

"Anka Manor!" At first sight, he recognized the statue as Anka Baliske, the founder and sole owner of the estate.

If you were to rank the Ghost Manor in Battle Valley, all Battle Valley people would not hesitate to vote for this manor.

It's not because of how ferocious the goblins in this manor are, but because it's a big representation of Battle Valley.

If you say that in the history of the valley, the person closest to the supreme king of the valley is the one in front of him, the lord of the battle valley and the king of cloaks, Anka.

Not only has every Vale heard of his story, but most of the Vale know it well, that this is their childhood bedtime story, and that countless Vale parents have taught their children to become like him, even if they can't perform Anka's feats—humble, hardworking, enduring, and able to fail, but never allow them to lie on the ground with a grumbling stomach and never get up again, regain their strength and rebuild their confidence, and embrace justice instead of rhetoric.

I'm afraid you'll have to take me down first.

This is a favorite phrase of all the warriors of the Valley, as it used to be the mantra of Anka, the king of cloaks.

Anka Balisk himself is a full-blooded Battle Valley Man, but he is an outcast, he was raised in a community of elves, from whom he learned the knowledge of caring for the forest, military skills, wisdom, patience and compassion for others, and did not become angry and hated the human community because of his former abandonment.

As a young man, like most young people in the Valley, he was influenced by the wealth of the Kingdom of Sambia to seek advancement there, and he and his brothers formed a mercenary group known as the Armored Cloak.

Under Anka's leadership, the Cloaked Warriors have achieved great success as mercenaries, serving one Sambian employer after another.

In the process, they inevitably get involved in the dark secrets of their employers, who will do whatever it takes to extract every profit and value out of the valley people, drain them completely, and even sell them as slaves to Serre and beyond.

When the Sambian merchants found out that the cloaked warriors would not go along with it, they abandoned them mercilessly, and offered them a large bounty for their companions to destroy them, and they were forced to leave Sambia and return to the Battle Valley.

Here, Ankh and his companions discover that many local and Sambian merchants collude with each other to exploit the people of Battle Valley by manipulating the market, lending usury, and hiring armed thugs.

They decided not to run away, but instead led the good people of Battle Valley to rise up and drive the evil profiteers out of the land, and to a cheer, Anka became the lord of Battle Valley.

After becoming a lord, Ankka remained diligent, committed to improving the safety and prosperity of his people, just as a diligent farmer tended his livestock, and the cloaked warriors settled here and patrolled the entire Battle Valley.

In less than a decade, Ankh had made the Battle Valley peaceful, rich and powerful, but the merchants from other valleys brought him the news that life in other valleys was still in dire straits, and they had to endure not only the harassment of monsters, but also the exploitation of tyrannical rulers and evil merchants of Sambia.

In 1038, Ankka decided to declare himself King of the Vale, first convincing the inhabitants of the Valley of Shadows and Tassur to join him in the Battle Valley, and then he erupted like a tidal wave of rage, sweeping through the other valleys, quickly defeating his enemies and appointing his trusted Cloaked Warriors as lords or lords of the sword in the valleys.

In just one year, the banner of the Cloaked King spread over all the valleys except the Valley of the Bow and the High Valley, and in only two years, the people of the Valley began to embrace and love their king for his just and honest rule,

It's just that his actions have touched the interests of countless people, and he not only has to fight against many monsters and robbers, but also has to deal with the pressure from Sambia, and he has fallen under a curse while fighting an evil mage.

From then on, he was plagued by rotting diseases that could not be completely expelled, and various parts of his body began to slowly fester, and in order to maintain his image in front of the valley people, he had to cover his body with red turbans, masks, and red cloaks, which he used for most of his reign, hence the title of the King of Cloaks.

In 1044, at the quadrennial Shield Festival, a powerful evil mage summoned a terrifying dragon lich and launched an attack on Anka, gathering countless innocent valley people in Ankka's manor, so that Anka had no way to escape the battle, even knowing that there was a huge disparity in strength, he had to fight to the death, and finally dragged the evil mage and his dragon lich to die in the fire of the lord's mansion.

I don't know if there was some kind of deviation in the process, the evil mage and his dragon lich never appeared in front of the world again, and there was no way for Ankka, the king of cloaks, to be resurrected.

The only thing the grief-stricken Valians can do is to restore Anka's lord's mansion and witness the glory that once belonged to him, waiting for his successor - a group of loyal cloaked warriors who have voluntarily transformed into Earthbinders after Anka's death, and as long as they do not try to destroy or steal the contents of Ankka Manor, these Earthbinders will not disturb the people here.

But once someone desecrates Anka Manor, they will become the most terrifying existence.

All Valians believe that when someone carries on Anka's legacy, these cloaked warriors will be resurrected and will follow the new king in their fight to unify the Vale once again.

Information about this manor flashed through Gavin's mind, and a bold guess rolled in his mind, and he pressed it down, pretending to look at Regina calmly and asking, "What are you bringing me here for?" ”

"Don't pretend to be confused." Regina unceremoniously debunked Gavin, "With your careful thoughts, you can't guess?" ”

Gavin smiled, not embarrassed at all, and guessed, "You don't want to use my unique power in immortality to help me recover Anka Manor, right?" ”

"Pretending, pretending, I haven't seen you for a few days, how did you become so hypocritical?" Regina's face had an unconcealed disdain on her face, "If you want to borrow your power in this area, you still need to wait until now?" ”

Gavin cautiously guessed, "Could it be that the legend about this place is true?" You don't want me to carry on the so-called Ankh's legacy, do you? ”

"That's right, but there's no reward."

"This is something that no one in the entire valley has been able to do for three hundred years, how can you be sure that I can do it?"

"Jazz is too arrogant, and you've done less than anyone in the valley for hundreds of years? Just an army of conquerors, even the whole of Faeron is a rare miracle. ”

"It's two things altogether, you can't generalize, it's a bit too sudden, and I don't have a clue right now."

"Isn't it me here, just come with me and do what I say."

As she spoke, Regina had already taken Gavin deep into the interior of Ankka Manor, and she was very familiar with it, as if she had entered her own back garden.

She stopped playing dumb riddles with Gavin, and explained as she went, "I believe you should have heard of the legends about my father's origins, and now I can answer you definitively that many legends are not just legends.

For more than three centuries since the death of Anka, the Cloaked King, the successive lords of Battle Valley have all come from a family of former Cloaked Warriors, who have been secretly trained and nurtured from an early age to prepare for the sacred mission of guarding Battle Vale and guarding them.

And we are the first test of Ankka's will, if we can't even get our approval, even if we turn Ankka Manor upside down, we can't find where the key to the door is. ”

Regina's implication is obvious, Anka's legacy is not only real, but the Battle Valley Lord also holds vital clues and is an important part of it.

"So, taking Ankka Manor to auction at the Ghost Castle auction is a special set for the merchants of Sambia?" Gavin asked, "The legend about Anka's legacy is so long-standing, can't you be behind it?" ”

"That's right." Regina's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a smug smile, "Anka's temporary pass has been auctioned hundreds of times, eighty percent of which are those sons and daughters of Sambia, they think they are superior, everything is prepared for them, as everyone knows, what Anka hates the most is their style, there is no possibility of success at all." ”

"This is a typical example of treating others the way you do."

"What do you mean?"

"That is to say, you use the methods of profiteers against profiteers."

"That's right."

"Since you have this clue, why don't you try it yourself?"

"How do you know we haven't tried?"

"So you've all failed."

"If you don't fail, you won't be able to sir."

"That's the same reason."

Regina stood in front of the gate of Anka's mansion, looked at Gavin with a serious expression, and said, "Before we officially start, I need you to answer me honestly a question, do you want to become the king of the valley?" ”

"Everything I do in the valley, it's for that purpose." Gavin replied bluntly.

Sometimes it needs to be hidden, but sometimes it has to be said bluntly.

If you don't even express this, how can you inherit Anka's legacy?

Lord Ilmet and Regina's plans have been revealed, and they are now optimistic about themselves, believing that they are worthy of Anka's legacy.

As long as he can get Ankka's approval, they can naturally swear allegiance to themselves and give up the position of Battle Valley Lord to themselves, because they are the guardians of Anka's will and manage Battle Valley on their behalf.

Although even if he does not inherit Anka's will, as he continues to grow and develop in Battle Valley, he will force Lord Ilmet to give up his identity as Lord of Battle Valley, but it is far from being as simple and direct as it is now, and it is difficult to predict where Lord Ilmet will go afterwards.

There are pros and cons to inheriting Ankh's legacy.

There is no need to say more about the benefits, in addition to the above possibilities, but also to be supported by more valley people, after all, centuries of legends are still very deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, especially for those young people who have grown up listening to these stories and still have fantasies.

The disadvantage is that it is contrary to Gavin's original plan to build high walls, accumulate grain, and slow down the king, and is even more feared.

Then again, this disadvantage does not seem to have a particularly big impact, and as long as he grows in the valley, whether he shows ambition in this area or not will be targeted, because of the conflict of interest.

"Very well, then face everything with this determination." Regina's voice began to fade into an ethereal voice, and she didn't know when her figure had disappeared from Gavin's presence.

Looking around, a mist rose from the sky, and not only Regina disappeared, but also Anka Manor.

Magic?

Or have you already entered the spirit realm?

Gavin was not shocked or confused, and immediately searched his own state to see if his abilities were restricted.

The most troublesome thing about these special environments is not that they are themselves, but that they tend to merge with various banning spells, which will put the person in an extremely disadvantageous state.

For example, in the spirit world, you need to deal with a large number of spirits, but the ability to cast spells is banned, and you can only use swords to fight, which is a headache for everyone, especially those who cast spells.

Another example is the illusion, which directly acts on your soul, which automatically blocks all your equipment, and only the special abilities and spell-casting abilities you carry can take effect.

Gavin is now afraid not of the first, but of the second, eighty percent of his abilities are in equipment.

After the search, Gavin was even more confident, and his condition was intact.

Thinking about it, listening to Rejana's meaning, what he is about to face is clearly a test from Anka.

What this kind of test wants to see most is a person's true temperament and real strength, even if it does not give the corresponding bonus assistance, it will not deliberately provide obstacles.

There is also a corresponding guarantee on the security, if the test fails, at most there is no way to obtain the Anka inheritance, and there will be no danger to your life.

Gavin, who had the bottom in his heart, walked forward unhurriedly.

In this illusion-like environment without any discernment, it is the same in either direction, and as long as the corresponding conditions are met, the corresponding reaction will be automatically triggered.

Sure enough, Gavin only walked a few dozen steps forward when a gate appeared right in front of him.

It was a gate he was familiar with, the fine solid wood door of the Anka Mansion he had seen before, and the past four centuries had not left any trace of time on it.

Gavin confirmed his state again, took a deep breath, and slowly pushed open the solid wood door in front of him, this was a multiple-choice question with only one choice, and he could only follow the preset walk.

The solid wood door is lighter than expected and opens with a push.

"Your Excellency has arrived."

"The Shield Festival has officially begun."

"Let us raise a glass to our common lord and common king, may the gods protect him and let him live a long life, and may the gods grant us valleys so that we may prosper and prosper forever, united as we are today."

"Anka!"

"Anka!!"

"Ankh !!"

The moment Gavin pushed the door open and walked out, he was greeted by a tsunami of cheers.

Let him, who was already ready for battle, involuntarily freeze in place, but fortunately, he had good control and did not throw out his various combat abilities because of the sudden fright.

The only thing he can do is to do nothing, to respond to all changes without changing, and to observe everything around him without a trace.

The fog had completely disappeared, and the door that Gavin had pushed open earlier had not entered the lord's mansion, but had come out of it and was in the courtyard of Anka Manor.

This courtyard is no longer luxurious, but it is not very popular.

On the contrary, Gavin was now in a grand banquet, where food and drinks were placed on bustling tables and directly in the open air in the courtyard, rows of rows, as many as a dozen tables, swaying perfumes and the smell of dishes mixed together.

The huge courtyard was filled with people, both the wealthy class dressed in fine clothes, and the ordinary people in plain clothes, both humans, halflings, half-elves, elves, dwarves, and even a large number of elves mixed in with it.

These people, rich and poor, regardless of their race, had the most sincere and contented smiles on their faces, and they looked into their gaze as if Gavin were in the midst of an army of conquerors—in awe and love.

It's role-playing.

Gavin, who has seen a lot of things, instantly understands what is going on.

Even if he didn't have to look in the mirror, he knew that the appearance he was wearing now did not belong to him, but to the king of cloaks, Anka.

This is a re-simulation of the scene from four centuries ago using super-large illusions.

If Gavin guessed correctly, this banquet was the same as the Shield Festival where Anka, the king of cloaks, was assassinated.

No matter how elaborate the trial is designed, it will not be as simple as a simple question and answer, because it is possible to lie and cheat, and only the most instinctive choice made under the tension can be seen, and there is no easier way to create a tense atmosphere than a tense battle.

The trial hadn't even begun, and Gavin seemed to have deduced the whole story.

Seeing that the entire banquet had a momentary stagnation, and everyone's eyes fell on him, Gavin picked up a glass of wine from the plate of the waiter next to him, and said in a loud voice: "For the valley." ”

"For the valley." Everyone immediately responded with thunderous cheers.

(End of chapter)