Noah had known since coming out from the chrysalis that his body hid more than just raw strength.
Magical beasts only had one center of power, which defined the kinds of existences that they were.
The breakthrough had elevated Noah's being, but he had been unable to understand how thorough that transformation was before.
However, that changed when he became a rank 5 mage.
Noah could feel how his new mind was now able to understand the many sensations that filled his body.
Raw power was the most evident feature, but there were emotions hidden deep inside his bloodline and, in general, in the kind of lifeform that he was.
The anger against Heaven and Earth and his desire to devour everything that could make him improve were feelings that he had always noticed.
Yet, his pride seemed clearer now.
There were natural features in the various species of magical beasts, and one of them was their ability to submit weaker beings.
That skill reached a broader meaning when it appeared inside Noah.
The simple ability to instill terror that magical beasts used became an intense pride when it manifested inside a hybrid.
It became pride in his status and in the power that he was able to wield.
Noah innately felt that he could use that emotion to control weaker creatures and create an obedient pack, but there was something else that occupied his thoughts at that moment.
'This pride is an expression of the natural laws and wills contained in the magical beasts' bodies.' Noah thought as his mental waves focused in a specific spot next to him to create primary energy.
He had realized long ago that the magical beasts appeared to be some sort of natural enemy of Heaven and Earth.
The matter that made their bodies didn't contain Heaven and Earth's will and worked according to laws that belonged only to their species.
Noah had discovered that during his experiments with the slaves.
The fusion wouldn't have been possible if the beasts' laws couldn't replace Heaven and Earth's since the hybrid's body would have just fallen apart without something that dictated its functioning.
Noah hadn't been able to do much with that discovery back then, but his sea of consciousness was now able to radiate the innate feelings of his body.
Noah focused his consciousness on the primary energy forming next to him.
He set his mind on his pride as a powerful hybrid, and a thick aura began to surround his figure as he tuned to that feeling.
The primary energy acted normally at the beginning, but it started to show strange behaviors as the intensity of his aura increased.
It first slowed down its natural dispersion until it completely stopped to remain still right next to him.
Noah wasn't able to wield laws, but he could try to submit that energy with his hybrid's pride!
The intensity of his aura kept on growing, but the primary energy didn't show other changes. It merely stood still as if something was containing it.
Noah tried to force it to perform plain commands, but all his efforts didn't bring any result.
Preventing it from dispersing seemed the best that he could do without laws.
'I can work with this.' Noah thought as a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
The Divine deduction technique was filling his mind with ideas on how to improve his current abilities and create new ones.
Also, it provided many inspirations that concerned his two inscription methods.
'Ambition, hunger, and now pride, the number of strong meanings at my disposal is increasing. I need to create a second rune, and I must improve my first one too.' Noah thought.
Countless possible improvements surged inside his mind, and he didn't fail to understand why cultivators on his rank spent so much time in seclusion.
It wasn't just a matter of training and meditation on the laws of their elements.
Every breakthrough opened the path to new approaches, and all the tests required to study them would take years, if not more.
Noah had the Divine deduction technique, which shortened that process significantly, but he had to spend a lot of time too if he wanted to tread the possibilities revealed by his mind.
Luckily for him, the raids on the noble families were momentarily on hold since the Demons had to study their reaction before deciding on their next move.
One medium-size family and four small-size families had been destroyed even if the nobles had grouped to form stronger fronts.
The remaining families in the Utra country would understand at that point that the assailants had peak rank 4 cultivators in their ranks at least.
That was a power that most nobles couldn't hope to oppose and that without considering the possibility that the assailants had rank 5 existences with them.
Only the largest families could have access to a similar power, but even the Udye family couldn't do anything if the two Demons were to appear inside its mansion suddenly.
Helplessness and fear spread among the nobles after the last raid.
All the families destroyed in the last year were loyal to the Royals, so the Cause became the main suspect.
However, the Elbas family simply ignored the situation, which further worsened the position of those helpless families.
Most of them felt forced to migrate to the new continent and seal new agreements with the Royals, while some of them decided to side with the Cause and remain in the Utra nation.
The recent assaults forced all the nobles to take a side even if they were still under the banner of the Elbas family on the surface.
The Hive had managed to reveal the weakness of a fragmented political system. Still, the Demons had to admit that the indifference of the Royals had played a significant role in their strategy.
Of course, there were exceptions to that event.
The Ballor family and the Royal academy, as well as other families deeply connected with the Royals, didn't migrate nor change side.
They already had branches on the new continent, so they didn't need to move their assets.
Also, their relationship with the Elbas family was the best insurance on their safety, which was one of the reasons why the Hive had focused on other targets.
The Balvan family remained on the Utra nation too, and it seemed that its influence in the area around its mansion increased.
To the surprised of the Demons though, the Udye family wasn't able to gather precise information about its location.
They couldn't possibly know that the Elbas family planned to officially recognize the Balvan family as a large-size noble family after Thomas' achievements in the Royal Inheritance.
That plan though couldn't be announced so easily since the matter of the Inheritance was a secret.
So, the Royals secretly provided a large number of resources and support while the Balvans were busy expanding.
Of course, that secrecy hindered the gathering of information that the Hive needed to prepare a battle strategy.