Curse

Seeing the confusion in the red dragon's eyes, Luna Bloodfeather knew he had misunderstood.

"Honored true dragon, it was not I who was cursed," she said through gritted teeth. "It was a curse placed upon me by the Harpy race."

Jose frowned.

Dragons had a long history and were among the oldest species in the Multiverse, but they had entered the Material Plane only tens of thousands of years ago. When dragonkind migrated to the plane of Tydanore, many species that existed today had not yet been born, including Harpies.

According to the records of Dragon Heritage, Harpies had emerged more than six thousand years ago in the early Third Era. At that time, the Elven Dynasty had only recently defeated the dwarves and goblins and was in a period of vigorous expansion. Curious high elves were actively exploring the outside world.

Among those high elves was a secret organization formed by a group of arrogant mages. They had actually attempted to steal the power of a god—not some wild god worshipped by island natives, but a true deity with a place in the Pantheon.

Though those high elf mages were mad, they retained the most basic level of reason. Their target was not a deity in normal condition, but an unlucky one who had been severely wounded and was close to death.

Without question, those mad mages had overreached themselves. Yet they had also succeeded in killing that already weakened unlucky deity. The deity's towering hatred before death became a vicious curse, naturally aimed at the culprits responsible for its demise.

All the male high elves in the mage organization died. Feathers grew over the female high elves' bodies, their once-white hands turned into bird wings, and their feet became withered eagle talons. They became the Harpies of today.

Jose's expression became rather colorful. He had never expected Luna Bloodfeather to make such a request. This was a curse left behind by a deity.

"What makes you think I can remove the curse on you?!"

"You are special. I am willing to take a gamble," Luna Bloodfeather said with a self-mocking smile. "To be honest, ever since I learned that I was supposed to have been an elf, becoming one again has been the greatest wish of my life."

Jose did not want to crush the dreams of someone with such aspirations.

A long silence followed.

"If I heard correctly, you said that when it is within my power, I should remove the curse for you personally. Is that right?"

"That's right."

"Fine. I accept your terms."

The Harpy was trading an early investment for his help after he grew stronger. That was fair.

A moment later, Jose's third vassal was born, and the Bloodfeather Clan was successfully brought under his command.

Accompanied by his new vassal, Jose flew among the cliffs, observing the condition of the Harpy clan.

"Luna, how many members does your clan have? How many combat professionals?"

"Reporting to Master, the Bloodfeather Clan has sixty-four Harpies including myself, with five combat professionals. Besides me, there are four Initial Stage Warriors. Those two are elite scouts I brought out of the Red Nest."

"I want you to send three Harpies to assist my vassals—the Bloodtooth Kobold Tribe—with hunting. As compensation for delaying your own hunting, you may take a portion of the prey."

It was her master's command, and there was compensation. Naturally, Luna Bloodfeather did not refuse. "As you wish."

"Also, tell your people to keep watch on the Graytail Centaur Tribe while operating on the prairie. Gather intelligence on them, including their internal power structure, the locations of their food stores, and whom they associate with."

Jose noticed that the vassal beside him seemed hesitant. "What? Is there a problem?"

"Master, have the Graytail Centaurs offended you?"

Luna Bloodfeather paused. "The Graytail Centaurs are allies of the Bloodfeather Clan. We provide the Centaurs with information on merchant caravans crossing the prairie, and they leave food for us. One-third of the Bloodfeather Clan's food comes from the Graytail Centaurs."

"Heh." Only then did Jose recall that Harpies were also a notorious bandit race. Two groups of bandits working together to get what they needed—it all made perfect sense.

"It is not that they have offended me, but they have blocked my path."

"I will cut off all contact with the Graytail Centaurs at once!"

"No! Continue cooperating with them! Cooperate even more closely!"

How could Jose pass up such a fine opportunity to infiltrate the enemy? "At the critical moment, we can strike from within and without. Also, tell me what you know, especially about their Khan."

Luna Bloodfeather lowered her head to organize her thoughts, then looked up. "The Khan of the Graytail Centaur Tribe is Mudakhan Graytail. He is an intermediate stage warrior. I have dealt with Mudakhan Graytail many times, and he feels very dangerous to me. He is probably close to advancing to the Advanced Stage. Moreover, he has a genuine Advanced Stage Warrior for a younger brother."

"An Advanced Stage Warrior? A younger brother?" Jose looked at his vassal in confusion, waiting for her further explanation.

"That's right. He does indeed have an Advanced Stage Warrior younger brother named Hamur Graytail. Hamur Graytail did not remain in the tribe. He joined a gang of Centaur raiders and 'hunted' across the Great Prairie, but he has not severed ties with the tribe. Every year, he returns to the tribe to spend the winter."

Luna Bloodfeather continued, "Besides that, the Graytail Centaurs also have ties to the Blackwater Merchant Guild. Most of the stolen goods they loot are sold through the Blackwater Merchant Guild's channels."

Sure enough, not a single tribe that could afford to eat meat on the prairie was simple.

That was what Jose thought. However, compared to the native Centaurs, he was more wary of the Blackwater Merchant Guild.

On the Great Prairie, where conflict was everywhere, merchant guilds were far more than mere organizations of merchants. Without sufficient military strength for protection, forget the savage natives of the prairie—their business competitors would make them disappear into the endless grasslands first.

"How much do you know about this Blackwater Merchant Guild?"

"I have only met those merchants once. I bought a few things from them. All I know is that they came from Sun Sail Port in the east."

Sun Sail Port—the City of a Thousand Sails, a land flowing with gold and silver, fertile soil of hope. It was the terminus of one of only two routes connecting the human world to the Northern Great Plains, the sea route, and also the starting point through which the wealth of the Great Prairie flowed into human society.

Jose pondered for a while. The Centaurs and the Blackwater Merchant Guild were unlikely to have a close relationship; it was probably just a straightforward partnership of mutual profit. Yet that relationship alone was enough to spread news of his existence into human society and bring immeasurable consequences.

He had to be cautious when attacking the Centaur tribe.

As he flew, Jose spotted an unusual bird's nest. It was somewhat larger than the others, with banana leaves arranged above it to keep out the rain. The branches serving as supports were decorated with blue and white flowers.

That elven flair was unmistakable. This had to be his vassal's private chamber.

He glanced at Luna Bloodfeather. Even with food still scarce, she had spent so much effort decorating her nest. Her wish to become an elf again truly was very strong.

"Huh?!"

Jose noticed something gleaming inside the nest. "There's even a mirror."

"Haha, I bought it from human merchants for three gold coins," Luna Bloodfeather said, looking as though she had gotten an incredible bargain.

Jose felt his teeth ache.

Three gold coins for a mirror?!

That was more profitable than robbery!

He was beginning to understand why the nobles south of the Karakoram Mountains were willing to spare no expense to open up trade routes. Faced with such enormous profits, no one could resist.