Autumn was the season of harvest, but it was also the season of withering.
The Fergus family traveled quickly on the winding road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
There were withered trees, shrubs, and weeds on both sides of the road. The autumn wind blew, and leaves fell from the trees. They fluttered in the air like yellow fairies in the wind.
They would occasionally pass by the fields, and they could clearly see that the fields were empty. The crops had clearly been harvested.
At noon, they rested and ate by the side of the road before setting off again. When the sun was almost out in the afternoon, Gray and the others entered a small city with a population of about 3,000. They came to a castle built on a hill.
There were already many people waiting in front of the castle. There were three people at the front.
The one in the middle was a middle-aged man with brown hair and a brown beard. He was about 1.8 meters tall, and his physique was slightly skinny.
On his left was a middle-aged woman in a black dress. She was middle-aged, and her appearance had changed slightly. However, one could still see that she was beautiful when she was young.
On his right was a young man in his early twenties. He had brown hair and wore a set of lake-blue clothes. He looked very handsome.
The three of them were Viscount Harris Blour Harris, Baroness Bess Milne, and their son Kevin Harris.
The Fergus family had sent a cavalry to inform them, so they knew that Gray and the others would be coming today.
The Fergus family stopped, and the cavalry jumped down from their horses. Gray and the others were led by Viscount Fergus to the carriage.
"Viscount Fergus."
"Baron Harris."
First, Viscount Fergus and Baron Harris greeted each other. Both of them addressed each other in a more formal manner. After all, both of them represented their respective families. In an occasion like this where there were outsiders, neither of them would lower the status of their respective families.
"Brother, Sister-in-law."
"Uncle, Aunt, Cousin."
"Aunt, Uncle, Cousin Bernal, Cousin Elise, Cousin Caroline."
…
Then, the wives and children of both parties came forward to greet each other.
Gray and Sarah also stepped forward to greet them, but they didn't greet them like Bernal and the others. Instead, they only greeted them as "Baron Harris, Madam Besse, Brother Kevin".
They could clearly sense the special gazes that Baron Hars and the other two cast over. Clearly, the three of them knew of Gray and Sarah's identities.
Sarah was a little nervous. She grabbed Gray's arm tightly. Gray faced it calmly.
No matter what attitude the three members of the Harris family had towards the two of them, their status in the Fergus family could not be shaken.
Other than spending the night with the Harris family, they wouldn't have much interaction with the Harris family, so they didn't need to care about the Harris family's attitude towards them.
"This way please!"
The cavalrymen and carriages were led by the Harris family servants to settle down first, while Gray and the others were led by Baron Harris and the other two to a spacious living room.
The spacious living room had a rose-shaped rune lamp overhead. The surrounding walls and floor were beige. At the same time, there were vases and other porcelain decorations around.
Compared to the Fergus family's living room, the living room was a little smaller. The decorations were also a little worse. However, the Harris family was only a baron's family after all. It was natural for there to be some differences between them and the Fergus family.
"Congratulations on obtaining a Hanhu cub!"
Everyone took their seats. Baron Harris looked at Viscount Fergus with envy.
"I was so envious when I learned that you obtained a Hanhu cub!"
"Thank you. Being able to obtain a Hanhu cub this time was mostly due to luck."
Viscount Fergus smiled slightly. Although there wasn't a proud expression on his face, one could clearly feel the pride in his heart.
Obtaining a blood fiend that was comparable to a Murderous Level Blood Warrior when it matured and only needed three years to reach adulthood and become a fighting force was indeed something to be proud of.
"Haha, you're too humble. You were able to obtain it mostly because of the Fergus family's strength."
Baron Harris shook his head.
"If it were my Harris family, even if we discovered it, I'm afraid it would have been snatched away by the Rock family."
"That's right, Uncle. Being able to obtain a Hanhu cub this time was entirely due to the strength of the Fergus family."
Kevin Harris also smiled.
"I really want to see that Hanhu cub. It's a pity that you didn't bring it along."
"Cousin, after this Marquis' birthday banquet, why don't you come with us to the Fergus family as guests? That way, you can see the Hanhu cub."
Bernal suggested.
"That's right, Cousin. When the time comes, come with us to the Fergus family. You haven't been to our Fergus family for a long time."
Elise also said happily.
"Okay, I'll go with you to the Fergus family."
Kevin Harris was obviously moved by this suggestion. A Hanhu cub would be a Murderous Level fighting force when it matured. He really wanted to go to the Fergus family to take a look.
"When the time comes, Cousin will have to stay for a while. We haven't seen each other for more than a year."
Caroline also said with a smile.
"Speaking of which, your Fergus family has done a lot of eye-catching things this year. During this Marquis' birthday banquet, I'm afraid that you will be targeted by the other Viscount families."
Baron Harris said with a slightly serious expression.
"I think so too."
Viscount Fergus's expression also became serious. It was fine if they were targeted, but the key point was that this was related to the Sidney Marquis family's allocation of resources to the other families. It really needed to be treated with caution.
"This time, the families you have to be most careful of are the Rychens family, the Bessemer family, and the Rock family. In these three families, the strength of the younger generation is extremely strong."
Baron Harris said.
"Especially the Rock family. They failed to snatch the Hanhu cub last time. This time, they will definitely target you. Moreover, both Aylford Locke and Morley Locke are already middle-level Blood Warriors."
With his sources of information, he only knew that the Rock family suddenly appeared to snatch the Hanhu cub, but they didn't manage to snatch the Hanhu cub. Other than that, he wasn't very clear.
The Rock family didn't publicize the fight between Gray and Morley Locke because they had their own plans. The Fergus family also didn't want people to know that Gray was already a middle-level Blood Warrior too early, so they intentionally blocked the news.
"I understand."
Viscount Fergus nodded, but his eyes glanced at Gray.
Not only him, but Bernal also couldn't help but glance at Gray at this time, and he sighed softly in his heart.
If it weren't for Gray this time, the pressure from the Fergus family would have been on his shoulders. Although he was already a middle-level Blood Warrior, the other viscount families also had middle-level Blood Warriors. For example, the Rock family and the Rychens family had as many as two middle-level Blood Warriors, so the pressure was even greater.
Although it was forbidden to fight more than one in a challenge, it wasn't forbidden to fight in turns. After all, having more people was also an advantage. In the future, when it came to the battlefield, this advantage could also be used.
Therefore, even if he defeated one of the middle-level Blood Warriors, he could be defeated by the other middle-level Blood Warrior because of a large amount of physical strength.
Now, with the addition of a middle-level Blood Warrior like Gray, the pressure on him was instantly reduced. Moreover, Gray's strength was above his. At the critical moment, he would definitely be able to give the other families a big surprise.
As for why the Rock family didn't publicize the fact that Gray was already a middle-level Blood Warrior, they could roughly guess what the other party was planning. However, after weighing the pros and cons, they still felt that it was better for them not to expose Gray's strength.
As the conversation went on, the atmosphere in the reception hall became extremely lively. Everyone talked about their daily lives, discussing Marquis Sidney's birthday banquet this time, and some of the past events between the Fergus family and the Harris family.
Of course, in this lively atmosphere, Gray and Sarah had to be excluded.
The two of them weren't able to join the conversation from beginning to end. It wasn't that they didn't want to participate in the conversation, but that Viscount Harris and the other two spoke very skillfully. Whether intentionally or not, they brought most of the conversation to an atmosphere that Gray and Sarah couldn't participate in.
Feeling that she couldn't integrate into the atmosphere, Sarah's face was slightly pale. She was just a young girl who hadn't even reached the age of fourteen. Feeling that she was being ostracized, she couldn't help but feel depressed.
"A show of strength?"
After patting Sarah's hand and whispering a few interesting things in Sarah's ear, amusing Sarah and relaxing her mood, Gray glanced at Baron Harris and the other two and sneered in his heart.
In his previous life, he had heard of emotional abuse. The best way to show disgust towards someone was not to insult them, but to ignore them and treat them as air. Obviously, this was what he and Sarah were experiencing now.
"Father, I heard that Viscount Bethel is a woman, and that the next generation of the family's heir is also a woman. Is that true?"
Gray's heart skipped a beat as he asked Viscount Fergus.
Since I can't participate in your conversation, why don't I lead the conversation? Although Gray was just an ordinary person in his previous life, he was an adult who had stepped into society after all. He knew how to break the ice.
"Indeed, the Bethel family is very strange. The outstanding child in every generation must be a woman, so the Bethel family has a tradition of a woman as the heir."
How could Viscount Fergus not notice that the three members of the Harris family deliberately distanced themselves from Gray and Sarah? Although he didn't show it on his face, he was already a little dissatisfied in his heart. At this time, when he heard Gray's question, he immediately spoke.