Chapter 785

Hydra was indeed an enormous organization, so vast that even many of its own members could not imagine just how immense it truly was.

Hydra had people in every corner of the world and every walk of life, and each of them held a certain degree of influence within the field they had infiltrated. Such a massive scale gave Hydra tremendous advantages and conveniences.

But this seemingly colossal organization was not a monolith. Hydra had existed for around three thousand years since its founding, and over that long stretch of time, its development could not possibly have been smooth sailing without a single setback. To deal with unfavorable situations and ensure the organization's continued existence, the ancient families that had founded Hydra had absorbed several groups with similar ideals throughout history.

Their original intention had been to create a structure with themselves at the core and the other organizations as tentacles, much like ministers supporting a monarch. And in the beginning, everything had indeed developed according to their plans.

But the ancient families were bound together by faith and bloodline, which made their numbers grow very slowly, sometimes not at all. The other factions, free from such concerns, saw their membership expand rapidly. And with that growth came greater resources and far stronger competitiveness for important positions within Hydra.

In the end, they had formed a situation where they could stand on equal footing with the ancient families, even faintly surpassing them. Yet such a situation inevitably came with a grave problem: severe internal strife.

Under normal circumstances, they could set these issues aside and maintain an appearance of mutual support. But once disputes over core interests were involved, there was nothing left to compromise over. And their most fundamental interest was precisely what method should be used to achieve