721 721. Runes

Noah's question wasn't out of context, and it didn't strictly apply to the Elbas family.

Both the Utra nation and the Papral nation had a fragmented political system.

The raids of the Hive had further divided the forces of the Utra nation into two sides, but the nobles that had joined the Royals weren't considered Royals themselves.

The same was true for the Council and the many sects under its domain.

Having such a divided power was one aspect that had prevented those countries from matching the Empire, and it was also a weakness that the exploration teams couldn't have during the invasion.

After all, their domains would remain exposed if most of their assets were to venture on the other side of the portal, and other organizations could just exploit that temporary weakness.

The Hive and the Empire didn't share that flaw, but the former still had to be wary of meeting a similar outcome. The small number of powerful assets was the unavoidable disadvantage of every new force.