Re-Overlord: I Can Acquire Anything!-Chapter 151: Prison Valley (2)

The creatures paused, their heads tilting as if listening. One of them, slightly larger than the others, rushed forward with a cry that echoed like cracking stone. Its claws gleamed with ancient poison.

Without flinching, Igaris activated Kinetic Redirection.

The beast’s charge halted mid-air, its own force rebounding against it.

Bang!

Bones cracked. The creature slammed into a pillar and slumped to the ground.

"I will give you one chance. Kneel, or vanish."

This time, they understood. Or perhaps it was instinct. One by one, the remaining creatures bent their knees, their movements trembling but clear. The largest among them, still alive, groaned and dropped its head in submission.

Jian walked up beside Igaris, awe written across his face.

"You really intend to make these things fight for you?" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

"Yes. They are survivors of torment, discarded by this Empire. Now, they will have purpose. Under me, they will rise again."

After subduing the twelve ghouls, Jian revealed a secret door hidden in the shadows.

"This is the path that leads to the True Prison, Lord. I can sense the formation still active underneath."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s meet them."

Igaris glanced at the door and stepped forward without hesitation.

As they descended deeper, the miasma in the air grew denser and more suffocating. From this alone, it was clear that the prisoners held within were not ordinary criminals—they were monsters, remnants of evil long buried.

They were evil, yes. But Igaris believed they could still be brought back to the path of light.

It might sound hypocritical, but deep within, he truly wished to free them from their nature using the power of his Wish.

One Wish. One intent strong enough to cleanse them of all evil.

And possibly gain another army in return.

The stairway creaked underfoot, each step a descent not only into the bowels of the earth but into an era long forgotten. The air thickened with every breath, a cloying mixture of blood, rust, and decay. Faint whispers trailed through the narrow corridor, as if the walls remembered every scream that once echoed here.

At the end of the passage, a massive stone gate loomed before them. Strange symbols glowed faintly on its surface, pulsing like a dying heart.

Founder Jian pressed his hand to the gate. "This seal was designed to never be opened. Only the blood of an Emperor can bypass it."

Igaris frowned slightly.

"But we don’t have the blood of an Emperor, do we? So how will we open it?"

Jian smiled strangely, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Haha, have you already forgotten your own power, my lord? With Yin-Yang Reversal, you can manipulate the age of this seal. Just like you restored life to me, you can accelerate the passage of time upon this gate."

He stepped back and gestured to the runes etched into the metal.

"By making the seal age thousands of years in an instant, it will eventually crumble. No formation, no matter how divine, can withstand eternity."

Igaris nodded and began channeling his power as instructed.

A decaying glow erupted from his palm, spreading like a silent flame across the ancient gate. The six-layered seal, one thought to be able to resist even Martial Emperors, began to wither and fade as its lifespan was reversed by the power of Yin-Yang Reversal.

But it wasn’t easy. Even with all his strength, it took a tremendous amount of energy just to create an opening large enough for one person to pass through at a time. These seals had been forged to stand against gods, and time itself was the only thing they could not defy.

At last, a narrow crack opened.

Without hesitation, Igaris and Jian stepped through the breach.

The moment they crossed into the hidden prison, a thick aura of decay, misery, and silent agony flooded over them. The air was heavy, almost choking. It smelled of rotting earth and broken souls.

The sky was dark and gloomy.

Before them stretched a vast, desolate expanse. Makeshift homes of straw and hardened mud lined the uneven ground. The entire place resembled a ruined village forgotten by time.

And within it moved the prisoners.

Their bodies were gaunt, skin like parchment, and eyes void of hope. They wandered aimlessly, like puppets long since broken, dragged forward only by habit or the memory of what it meant to live. They looked less like men and women and more like animated corpses cursed to walk forever.

Even Jian, who had once roamed this place, furrowed his brows at the sight.

"So many of them... But I am sure most of them are not even real criminals. Just how long have they remained in this rotten place?"

Igaris remained silent. His eyes noticing the innocent malnourished childrens who appeared to be composed of bones only.

Their eyes shrunken, clothes are close to none. They looked like walking living corpse.

"They are so pitiful... Does they also deserve to live like this?" he murmured.

Jian followed his gaze and fell silent.

The children huddled together in the corners of broken huts, too weak to move, too starved to cry. Their bones jutted out unnaturally. Some were barely more than skeletons wrapped in skin. Others had scars that told stories of horrors no child should have known.

A little girl with hollow cheeks glanced up at Igaris, eyes wide and frightened, then quickly hid her face behind another boy, trembling.

"They were born here," Jian finally spoke, his voice low. "Descendants of criminals, or sometimes just innocent children thrown in to rot alongside their families. No names. No futures. The Empire calls them cursed blood."

Igaris slowly stepped toward them.

"They’ve done nothing wrong..." he muttered. "And yet, they treat the so coldly."

One boy, about seven, tried to stand in front of the others. His knees trembled but he didn’t fall.

He looked up at Igaris with sunken eyes.

"Are you... going to hurt us too?" he asked, voice barely a whisper.

"No," Igaris said, kneeling down in front of him. "I’m going to change your world."

He extended his hand. Slowly. Gently. The boy looked at it in disbelief. Then, with hesitation, reached out his own trembling hand.

As soon as their hands touched, Igaris channeled a thin, careful stream of energy. Not enough to harm. Just enough to ease the pain.

Warmth spread through the boy’s limbs. His knees stopped shaking. His breathing steadied. Behind him, the children’s eyes widened in awe.

"Rise," Igaris said. "The darkness that shackled you will fall. You are not cursed. You are not forgotten."

"Follow me, I will guide you."

The boy nodded.

---

Jian and Igaris stepped forward through the cold mud, their footsteps muffled by the thick silence of despair that hung over the prison.

The boy named Kai also follwed behind them as those of the mysterious man gave his little heart hope.

As they walked deeper, the aimless prisoners began to notice their striking presence. Ragged heads turned. Hollow eyes stared.

Some backed away in fear, while others simply blinked in confusion, as if unsure whether the two men were real or just hallucinations born from centuries of solitude.

"Who dares walk freely here?" A gravelly voice echoed from the shadows.

Igaris and other two stopped.

From within a sunken straw hut, a figure slowly emerged. He was tall, though hunched, with shackles still clamped to his wrists. His beard was wild, and his back was bent from time and punishment. Even so, his eyes gleamed with a faint trace of power, as if the embers of a once-great fire still lived inside him.

Kai whispered beside Igaris, "That’s leader Karun. He was once known as the Tyrant of Misty Phoenix Sect. Banished here for burning down an entire sect with his forbidden flame arts."

Karun’s gaze narrowed.

"You are not guards. Nor are you prisoners. Speak your names... before I burn what’s left of my soul to drag you into the abyss with me."

Igaris took a calm step forward, his voice steady.

"My name is Igaris Vance. And I am not your enemy. I am the Overlord."

The prisoners around the field stirred. Some even muttered his name. But no memories resurfaced with the title or name.

"The Overlord?" Karun muttered, squinting. "Some bold title you use. But unfortunately we haven’t heard of anywhere. Just what do you want?

Igaris said, "I’ve come here with an offer."

Karun scoffed. "An offer? We are criminals, monsters. The world has discarded us. There’s no redemption waiting in the sunlit world above. What could someone like you want from us?"

"I want soldiers," Igaris said firmly. "Loyal warriors who know suffering. Survivors. Fighters."

He took another step, his aura rising.

"But more than that, I offer something none of your masters ever gave you. Freedom. And the chance to burn away the shackles on your souls. Fight for me, and I will rewrite your destiny."

Silence followed.

Until a prisoner from the back shouted, "What’s the catch? You want to use us? Make us your dogs?"

"No," Igaris said. "I will not chain you. You may leave after hearing me out. But if you follow me, I will raise you to glory greater than you ever imagined."

Karun stared at Igaris for a long time.

Then he laughed. A deep, broken, raspy laugh. "HAHAHAHA."

"You’re a madman," he said. "If you think you can just make submit with just words then you’re terribly wrong."

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