Shira and the Reincarnators could only be considered a minor interlude. They did not affect Noxus's continued advance in the slightest.
Then the Empire's incompetence became apparent, to a degree many people could hardly imagine. The Empire had actually become this pathetic!
As time passed, the Empire gradually revealed its inner fragility and decay.
Within the Empire, corruption spread like a plague.
The generals, sages, and strategists who had once won great military achievements for the Empire were pushed aside and suppressed one after another, their voices drowned out amid endless flattery.
Meanwhile, those who had risen through bribery and nepotism thrived within the system. They occupied important positions yet achieved nothing, knowing only how to curry favor with their superiors and preserve their own status.
Of course, it could not be denied that perhaps one or two among them truly possessed some degree of ability.
But in an environment filled with vermin and useless deadweights, their strength seemed utterly insignificant.
They could not change the system at its root. They could only drift along with the current or choose to remain silent.
Minister Honest, as one of the Empire's central figures, further accelerated the Empire's decline through his actions.
He did not care about the Empire's overall operations. Instead, he devoted most of his energy to his own pleasures.
He controlled the Empire's Assassin Organization and possessed absolute military force.
In his eyes, all that mattered was having obedient people. Their abilities, character, and contributions were never within his consideration.
This extreme style of management intensified the Empire's internal contradictions by the day, scattering the people's hearts.
During peacetime, it might still have been concealed by superficial prosperity. Like the tip of an iceberg, the part above the water looked endlessly magnificent, while the massive bulk beneath remained unknown.