Seeing Jose's confused look, Luna Bloodfeather knew that he had misunderstood.
"Esteemed True Dragon, it's not that I'm cursed." She gritted her teeth. "It's the curse cast on the harpies that I am affected by."
Jose frowned.
Dragons had a long history and were one of the oldest species in the multiverse. However, they had only entered the material plane tens of thousands of years ago. When the dragons migrated to the Tedanol plane, many species had yet to be born, including harpies.
According to the records in the inheritance of dragons, the harpy race was born in the early Third Age more than six thousand years ago. At that time, the Elven Dynasty had just defeated the dwarfs and gnomes and was in the midst of flourishing. The curious High Elves were actively exploring the outside world.
Among these High Elves, there was a mysterious organization formed by a group of arrogant mages who actually tried to steal the power of a God. The target was not some wild God worshiped by the natives of some primitive island, but a True God that occupied a position in the Pantheon.
Although these High Elf Mages were crazy, they still had some basic rationality. The target they stole from was not a normal God, but an unlucky fellow who was seriously injured and close to death.
There was no doubt that the group of crazy mages would have gotten away with it, but they had also wound up killing the unlucky God who was already weakened. This God's immense hatred before his death turned into a vicious curse, and the target of the curse was naturally the culprits who had killed him.
All the male High Elves in the mage organization died, and the female High Elves grew feathers on their bodies. Their originally white hands turned into bird wings, and their feet turned into skinny eagle claws, creating the current harpy race.
Jose's expression was rather interesting. He had never expected Luna Bloodfeather to make such a request. It was a curse left behind by a God…
"Why do you believe that I have the ability to solve your curse?!"
"I believe you're very special, and I'm willing to take a gamble." Luna Bloodfeather then laughed self-deprecatingly. "To tell you the truth, ever since I learned that I was originally supposed to be an elf, transforming back into an elf has become my greatest wish."
Jose did not want to discourage her and ruin her dream.
There was a long silence.
"If I didn't hear wrongly just now, you said that I need to lift the curse for you personally when I have the ability to do so, right?"
"That's right."
"Alright, I agree to your conditions."
It was fair for the harpy to invest in him early in exchange for help after he grew up.
A moment later, the third follower of Jose was born, and the Bloodfeather tribe was successfully recruited.
Accompanied by his new follower, Jose flew among the cliffs to observe the condition of the harpies.
"Luna, how many people do you have? How many combatants are there?"
"Master, the Bloodfeather tribe has 64 harpies, 5 combatants, and 5 beginner-level warriors, including myself. They are the elite reconnaissance troops I brought out from the Red Nest."
"I want you to send three harpies to assist my other followers — the kobolds of the blood-tooth tribe. As compensation for delaying your hunt, you can obtain a portion of the prey they hunt."
Of course, Luna Bloodfeather would not refuse her master's request and compensation, she answered, "As you wish."
"Also, instruct your people to monitor the gray-tailed centaur tribe while they are active on the grassland. Collect intelligence on them, including the authority framework of the tribe, the location of their food storage, and who they're interacting with."
Jose noticed that his follower was hesitant and asked, "Why? Is there a problem?"
"Master, did the gray-tailed centaurs offend you?" Luna Bloodfeather paused for a moment before continuing. "The gray-tailed centaurs are the Bloodfeather tribe's allies. We provide the centaurs with information about the merchant caravans on the plains, and they provide us food. A third of the Bloodfeather tribe's food comes from them."
"Heh." It was only then that Jose remembered that the harpy was also a famous bandit race. The two groups of bandits worked together to get what they needed. Everything was so reasonable.
"I wouldn't go so far as to say they offended me, but they blocked my path."
"I will immediately cut off all contact with the gray-tailed centaurs!"
"No! Continue working with them! Even more closely than before!"
With such a good opportunity to infiltrate the enemy's rank, how could Jose let it go? He immediately instructed, "We will attack them together at the critical moment. Also, tell me what you know, especially information about their Khan."
Luna Bloodfeather lowered her head and organized her thoughts. She raised her head and said, "The Khan of the gray-tailed centaur tribe is called Mudahan Graytail. He is an Intermediate Warrior. I have interacted with him many times. He gives me a feeling that he is very dangerous and is about to break through to the advanced level. Moreover, he has a younger brother who is a genuine Advanced Warrior."
"Advanced Warrior? Younger brother?" Jose looked at his follower doubtfully, waiting for further explanation.
"That's right. He has a brother who is an Advanced Warrior named Hamel Graytail. Hamel Graytail did not stay in the tribe. Instead, he joined a centaur bandit gang and 'hunted' in the plains, but his connection with the tribe has not been severed. Every year, he would return there to spend the winter."
Luna Bloodfeather continued, "In addition, the gray-tailed centaurs are also connected to the Black Water Merchant Guild. Most of their stolen goods are sold through the guild's channels."
As expected, none of the tribes that could prosper on the plains were simple.
That was what Jose thought. However, instead of the centaurs, he was warier of the Black Water Merchant Guild.
In the plains where disputes arose everywhere, the Merchant Guild was not simply an organization. Without sufficient military force to protect them, not to mention the barbaric natives on the plains, just their competitors could have made them disappear in the vast grassland first.
"How much do you know about the Black Water Merchant Guild?"
"I only met those merchants once and bought some things from them. I only know that they came from Sun Sail Harbor in the east."
Sun Sail Harbor, the city of a thousand sails, the land of flowing gold and silver, and the fertile land of hope. It was the endpoint of the human world's sea transportation route connecting to the Great Plains of the Northern Lands. It was also the starting point where the wealth of the Great Plains flowed into human society.
Jose thought for a while. The possibility of the centaurs and the Black Water Merchant Guild having a close relationship was not high. It should be purely a collaboration of interests. However, this collaboration would be enough to spread the news of his existence to the humans, leading to incalculable consequences.
They had to be careful when attacking the centaur tribe.
As they flew, Jose noticed a peculiar harpy nest. It was slightly larger than the other nests, with banana leaves blocking the rain from above. The branches that served as scaffolding were also decorated with blue and white flowers.
This elven style was undoubtedly the work of his follower.
He glanced at Luna Bloodfeather. She had spent so much effort decorating her nest when there was not enough food. It seemed that her desire to become an elf was very strong.
"Eh?!"
Jose noticed something shiny in the nest and exclaimed, "I can't believe there's a mirror here."
"Haha, I bought this from a human merchant for three gold coins," said Luna Bloodfeather, who looked like she had obtained a huge bargain.
Jose felt his teeth aching.
Three gold coins for a mirror?!
This was more profitable than robbery!
He was beginning to understand why the nobles on the southern side of the Jorgol Mountains had to open up a trade route at all costs. No one would be able to control themselves in the face of such huge profits.