After all, while they thought I was employing a single, st.u.r.dy barrier, in fact, I was surrounded by a few hundred of them already!

Even if this guy managed to shatter the first ten of them, he wouldn"t be even one percent through my defences!

As the hit was about to connect, I saw the fist suddenly accelerating as if pushed forward by new power, while the tightened fingers of the overlord covered in a thin fabric of energy!

Crack.

With this attack being the only thing that struck my s.h.i.+eld, it still managed to shatter three of them, but it brought my attention to the technique the overlord was using. So I would call it a fair deal!

Even if initially everything supposed to end after just this single attack, I wasn"t caught off guard where left overlord"s fist appeared flying towards me, aimed squarely at my face.

Did this guy really think that my face would have less protection than any other of my body parts? Nah, I think I"m too harsh on them. If they are stuck with their own interpretation of using the energy, I can"t expect them to follow my logic when fighting!

With the lefthanded punch once again striking against my s.h.i.+eld, I noticed the most crucial points about the technique the overlord was using, keen of observing and learning it with his new attack.

But it never came!

"I think I know enough. Thanks for keeping up with my request!"

While I could still see the hints of anger on the Overlord"s face, he somehow managed to hold back his emotions before going too far in the fight.

I could only guess that the fact that I was capable of negating his attacks served as a bail of icy-cold water poured on his head, proving that the world was far too wast for him to expect that he already reached the pinnacle!

But there was no way in which I could force him to execute more of his punches, not without insulting his entire family and making him an enemy, which would, in turn, make the mission of extracting the people from his hands a lot harder!

"Just like I listened to your lords.h.i.+p request, I hope I won"t be sent away without your side fulfiling mine. I will add that I don"t mind sharing some of my knowledge for the sake of making the exchange fair!"

As if. The short inspection I conducted on the head of the house coupled with my discoveries back at the battlefield or even in Leicar"s shed, they all created a more or less complete image of the basis of the cultivation for those people. Even if I had only a minimal idea what kind of logic would lead to the creation of various trump cards for them, it didn"t mean I was unable to create my own technique that could utilize the strengths of this kind of cultivation, while remaining potentially harmless when used against me!

"And what is this wish that you want us to fulfil? You know that I can"t promise anything without learning of the matter first."

With the overlord returning to his seat, I had no other way than to follow his example and join Elea back at the table.

Almost instantly, her arms wrapped around my shoulder as she pushed her ample chest against my arm.

"That was glorious! You just stood there and did nothing, yet even papa was unable to breakthrough! Would you mind teaching me this technique?"

At this point, I started to wonder whether this girl was just a natural airhead or skilled seductress that simply knew what kinds of b.u.t.tons she should push to wrap a man around her fingers.

As she pushed her chest against my arm, she somehow hooked her upper clothing on a protruding part of my outfit, and as she leaned forward, her entire bust presented before me in its full glory, as her eyes continued to sparkle in my face.

At least, while she was way too close to me for the guests of the Latra tribe comfort, the insane depths to which I could go in inspecting her body were known only to me, with the remaining bits of her costume that stayed where they were supposed to, blocking this sight from anyone else.

"Well… I think I should decide with your father how far should I go when teaching you guys. After all, it"s not like you can afford all the knowledge I do possess."

All in all, my current aim was to free the refugees captured by the Overlord"s forces, maybe even buy the freedom of the prisoners of war, and then transfer them all to my own island. Unless they expected me to offer them a knowledge capable of threatening me or my future plans, I was actually pretty open with how far I could go in teaching them!

"Come on, then. Spit it out. What do you want to have in order to teach us new stuff?"

Seeing how flirty his daughter was acting with me, this lord or something turned rather eager to finally push our business talk onto the front stage. I could see how he wanted to divert my attention from his easygoing kid onto the matters that were bound to pick the utmost of my interest!

"It"s actually pretty simple. As I was travelling to this island, I stumbled upon one, that rather recently was struck with a firestorm of some sort, leaving it with only dust and burned-down land. From what I know, while this was a tragedy by itself, the earth there will be insanely suitable for farming while being completely devoid of human life. With that, I would like to establish my forward operating base there, to always have a place to go back to. "

Since this guy was incapable of breaking my defences, he wouldn"t be able to break into the tower, with all sorts of barriers and defensive measures already in place. I didn"t see any problem with telling him a little lie, though based on reality.

"And how are we supposed to help you with your endeavours? I"m sorry, but I can"t force my own people to follow the lead of someone they do not know!"

Maybe because I was kinda flirting with his daughter, but this guy really acted as if he didn"t want to let me get what I wanted. 

This was the tipping point of my annoyance.

Not only was he far weaker than me, but he also continued to act as if he owned the place! And even if the last part is actually true, replacing him on his position would take me any effort at all!

At first, I had to hold back my anger as to not affect the ongoing negotiations, but as I looked around the table, a devilish thought surfaced in my mind.

"All I want are the people from the tribe you just conquered. All the refugees, all the defeated warriors. Not only I will pick up the burden of feeding them from you, but I will also make far better use of them than your lords.h.i.+p would even be capable of. As for my part of the bargain… How about a technique that allows you to directly channel the energy through touch?"

Just as I said those words, I spread my arms in the gesture of showing how approachable I was, while making sure that I touched Elea naked shoulder with just the tip of my finger.

Even if the moment that our bodies were touching was extremely brief, I made sure to channel all my prowess into my nearly forgotten charm ability, to leave as lasting memory in the girl"s mind, as I could. 

If this makes.h.i.+ft plan would be executed properly, not only I would get rid of the problem of being unable to use my d.i.l.d.os to farm the attribute points from them, I might even force the hand of the overlord to get him to use his most priced techniques, all the while recovering all the people I wanted from the grasp of local lord!

Truly, three birds with a single stone!