Over the course of one night, the Goblin tribes around the Kobolds had all been visited by the two dragons.
The next day, Goblins gradually began entering Kobold territory. Just as the true dragon had said, they were welcomed and entertained by the Kobolds, then told the route to the Bloodtooth Mines.
Thus, driven by fear and temptation, large numbers of Goblins and a small number of Gnolls gathered at the Bloodtooth Mines, where Ergou arranged for them to stay in the abandoned residential area.
After witnessing the strength and prosperity of the Bloodtooth Kobolds, the outsiders became even more eager to pledge themselves to the true dragon and live as well as the Kobolds did. They chose representatives to seek an audience with the true dragon.
In response, Jose gave them an encouraging speech and fobbed them off.
Watching the representatives drift away in a drunken haze, Ergou's lips curled into a mocking smile.
"Master, I made a rough count. You and Lord Kashi have talked more than eighteen hundred cannon fodder into coming here."
"What do you mean, talked into it?!" Jose shot his follower a sidelong glance. "This is called strategic... persuasion!"
"Besides, if these fellows survive this battle, I wouldn't mind truly giving them a chance to join us."
"But Master, what if the Centaurs don't come?"
"Then they don't come. It's not like we can't afford to feed them."
Ergou recalled the mountains of food piled up in the warehouses. That was true enough, and he smiled ruefully.
He really had been frightened by hunger in the past.
After a pause, Jose continued, "If the Centaurs really don't come, train this cannon fodder. When winter begins in two months, we'll attack the Moss Hide Gnolls."
Suddenly, another follower sent a communication request. It was Luna Bloodfeather.
"Any news?"
"Master, Mudakhan Graytail has informed me to go to the Graytail Centaur Tribe to discuss something. I'm on my way there now."
"Good. Keep acting normally. Don't expose yourself."
"Understood!"
Jose connected to the Harpy follower's vision and discovered that she was flying over the Great Prairie with two trusted subordinates.
Flying was on an entirely different level from walking. Half an hour later, she spotted the Graytail Centaur Tribe on the prairie from afar.
The Graytail Centaur Tribe stood atop a small mound on the grasslands. Large tents densely covered the mound and its surroundings, while a ring of chevaux-de-frise encircled them, with guards patrolling outside.
"Huh?!"
Luna Bloodfeather noticed an unusual black speck within the Graytail Centaur Tribe. When she flew closer, she realized it was a carriage.
Why was there a carriage?
Centaurs had no use for carriages. Could it be the Blackwater Merchant Guild?!
"Master! Something isn't right!"
Something was indeed wrong. Winter was approaching, and before long, the cold air from the Great Glacier in the north would sweep southward. By then, more than half the Northern Lands would be covered in ice and snow.
At this time, even the Boarmen, who feared the cold least due to their thick fat, and the Minotaurs, with their abundant fur, would avoid going out whenever possible. Yet merchants from the Blackwater Merchant Guild had come here...
Jose felt that something was amiss and observed the carriage through his follower's eyes.
It was a luxurious two-horse carriage. Beaded curtains hung around the cabin as decoration, while the drapes were made of purple-black silk embroidered with a black wave edged in white.
"It really is the Blackwater Merchant Guild! And the carriage's owner holds no low position within the guild!"
There was also a group of saddled horses around the carriage. Jose counted them: seventeen saddled horses in all. In other words, this Blackwater Merchant Guild higher-up had brought at least seventeen attendants.
He looked toward the entrance of the central tent, where two humans stood guard outside.
Extravagant! They were actually using Initial Stage Warriors as door guards!
"Master! I can sense a powerful energy source inside the tent! At least a high-level spellcaster!"
"Be careful."
High-level spellcasters were extremely sensitive to unusual energy and might detect the telepathic communication between them. Jose severed the mental connection.
Meanwhile, Luna Bloodfeather hesitated as she hovered above the Centaurs' central tent, not daring to land.
A powerfully built Centaur emerged from the tent. A gray cloth band identifying his status was tied around his head. He was none other than the Graytail Centaur Chieftain—Mudakhan Graytail.
Mudakhan Graytail looked up at the Harpy in the sky and laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Bloodfeather Chieftain! Come down!"
"Graytail Chieftain, there are outsiders here. This little body of mine can't compare with yours, so I'd better be careful."
"Don't worry! They're all our own people! We've worked together for nearly three years! You still don't trust me?"
Luna Bloodfeather pretended to hesitate before descending and landing in front of Mudakhan Graytail.
"Come in!"
Mudakhan Graytail warmly invited the Harpy into the tent, and his enthusiasm was genuine.
Since partnering with the Harpies, finding prey on the grasslands had become much easier. The Graytail Centaur Tribe's harvest had increased greatly, and they no longer had to painstakingly search for traces of prey as before, saving both time and effort.
"Bloodfeather Chieftain! A big shot has arrived today! Let's pull off something big together!"
"Oh? Now I'm curious. What sort of person could you call a big shot, Chieftain?" Luna Bloodfeather looked at her partner beside her, her expression questioning.
"He's the Blackwater Merchant Guild's General Manager stationed in Sun Sail Port—Young Master Buck."
"General Manager?!" Luna Bloodfeather covered her mouth in surprise.
Although the general managers of large merchant guilds did not command five thousand men, money could make the devil turn millstones. The resources they could mobilize were no less than those of the chieftains of major grassland tribes.
Furthermore, merchant guilds had well-connected sources of information and controlled abundant resources. This gave general managers on the Great Prairie a status half a step higher than ordinary major tribe chieftains.
"What is such an important figure doing in the Triangle Plains?"
Mudakhan Graytail opened his mouth, then hesitated. "You'll find out shortly."
Pulling aside the curtain, Luna Bloodfeather entered the large tent. Inside, four people sat in two rows along the sides of the tent, seated on wool rugs with kumis, sour cheese, roast lamb, and other grassland specialties laid out before them.
Of the four, she recognized only one: the Graytail Chieftain's one-eyed younger brother—Hamur Graytail.
As for the other three:
One was a bald middle-aged man sitting cross-legged on the ground, with a scroll bag hanging at his waist and a staff beside him. He radiated the aura of a powerful expert.
He was the source of the aura she had sensed earlier. Luna Bloodfeather glanced at the other two.
One was an aristocratic young man with a straight back. Like many nobles, he had an unhealthy pallor to his skin. He wore black, with a red rose tucked into his chest, and a faint smile playing about his lips.
The last was a Black Robed Man, entirely shrouded in a hooded black robe. Only half of his wrinkled chin and a pair of withered, eagle-claw-like hands were visible.
The Black Robed Man and the bald mage sat on either side of the aristocratic young man. Clearly, the noble was the leader.
Luna Bloodfeather made her judgment: a young nobleman with an impressive background.
After the Harpy entered, the four stopped talking and turned their gazes toward her at the entrance.
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