The Empire truly had not expected Noxus to launch a new offensive so quickly.
They had assumed that after Noxus had just taken the Empire's southern territories and established ten new cities to gather the population and centralize administration, it would need at least some time to consolidate its new lands and digest the fruits of such a massive victory.
The Empire's officials conducted in-depth analyses and calculations.
They believed that although Noxus possessed formidable military strength, the vast southern lands and their complicated ethnic relations would both require time to integrate and stabilize.
At the same time, the newly established cities needed time to attract residents and restore production, and all of this required a relatively stable environment.
Based on this judgment, the Empire's officials generally believed that Noxus would need at least several years, perhaps even a decade, to fully absorb the Empire's southern territories.
During that period, Noxus should have focused on internal integration and consolidation, making it unlikely to launch another large-scale military operation against the Empire.
However, reality overturned the board entirely, completely catching the Empire off guard.
They had believed they could seize the initiative, only to find themselves forced into a passive position in this game.
Noxus did not seem to be acting according to the Empire's expectations.
It gave the Empire no chance to catch its breath. In the shortest possible time, it greedily completed the integration and consolidation of its new territories like a pack of hungry wolves.
Those were lands that had once belonged to the Empire, yet now they were firmly gripped in Noxus's hands.
Not only that, Noxus swiftly gathered its forces and launched a new offensive against the Empire with thunderous force.
This sudden military action was like a bolt from the blue, catching everyone in the