"They were waiting for us." Dreaming Demon said when the group reappeared in the separate dimension.
Daniel was still unconscious on the brown ground, but the elders and Noah didn't hesitate to destroy the teleportation matrix. Then, they reported that event back to the Hive.
"What was that?" Flying Demon asked as he turned toward Noah.
It was evident that he was hinting to the giant golem that had appeared in their defense, and he knew that both he and his lover didn't have access to that kind of power.
"Its power surprised me too," Noah said as he began to speak about the talisman. "Chasing Demon had given me that item when I was only a human cultivator."
Flying Demon couldn't help but release a laugh when he heard his words.
The talisman contained a quasi-rank 6 spell, and not even the most promising human cultivators of the big nations had access to a similar item. After all, that talisman could save the lives of rank 5 cultivators! Who would be so selfless to give it to a human?
"The Patriarch's respect toward Master's opinion is truly boundless." Dreaming Demon said while revealing a smile of her own. "You saved our lives once again."
Flying Demon patted Noah's shoulder without stopping his laugh. Then, he lifted the unconscious Daniel to lay him on his shoulder as he went for the southern part of the separate dimension.
The raid had failed, and it was time to reorganize to decide if keeping attacking was worth the risk.
The Hive now knew that the Elbas family had begun to intervene in the political situation of the Utra nation.
The desolation of the Royal academy couldn't be a case, and anyone would suspect that those peak rank 5 cultivators had just waited for the assailants to arrive. Their timing was too perfect, and they would have succeeded in seizing the group from the Hive if it wasn't for Chasing Demon's talisman.
A being at the peak of the fifth rank was an existence that only powerhouses could command, and the Elbas family had managed to deploy three of them so easily!
Noah was already re-evaluating the power of the big nations after witnessing that, and the elders were doing the same.
The Hive was too weak compared to such forces. It merely happened to be the strongest organization after them.
"What do you think we should do, Prince?" Flying Demon asked as the group walked toward the southern areas of the dimension.
The Hive had lost part of its human elites in the last raid, but they could be easily refilled thanks to its current power.
The real issue was the lack of available targets.
The Demons had attacked every defenseless family that sided with the Royals while Noah was in seclusion, but the nobles had mostly found a safe position by then.
The Cause had gathered many followers due to the indifference of the Elbas family, and part of its enemies had been destroyed. Yet, many families had managed to reach the Capital too, which limited the possibilities of the Hive.
"What's the situation of the other cities?" Noah asked after he analyzed the situation in his mind.
The fact that all the nobles had moved in safe areas didn't eliminate every valuable spot in the Utra nation. The big cities once ruled by the large-size families were still there, and there was a high chance that they still contained some sort of riches.
Raiding the cities would only bring the Hive small benefits, but that was better than nothing.
The Cause managed one crowded area, and the Royals defended the other, so there wasn't much more than they could target.
Flying Demon shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the noble that he was carrying. "We need to ask him when he wakes up."
The group became silent at that point and simply returned on the array under the Udye family.
Daniel woke up along the way, but his mental sphere seemed to have suffered some injury when the peak rank 5 auras swept it. It wasn't in a critical condition, but its walls had nearly cracked during the sudden attack.
His mind was quite frail at that moment, and he would have to spend a period of rest on restoring it to its original sturdiness.
Noah and the elders instructed him to investigate the various cities of the nation before sending him back to his mansion, but their expressions became cold when he disappeared.
"Do you think they have understood his identity?" Flying Demon suddenly asked.
"We were all covered, and the exchange lasted only a few seconds." Dreaming Demon said. "But I can't be sure about that."
"It would be the Hive's word against that of a Royal," Noah replied. "I'm actually worried about the secrecy of the separate dimension."
The Demons glanced at Noah, but they quickly understood his worries.
The separate dimension was a creation of Divine Architect, but it was still something in the heroic ranks. Most organizations didn't even have the means to study it, let alone finding it.
Yet, three higher-ups of the Royal family had seen them disappear without leaving any trace. The array on the outside world had been destroyed too, which was a feature that the Elbas family would surely be interested in learning.
There was a considerable difference between noticing something that you didn't know existed and searching for something that you aren't able to sense.
The Royals didn't know how the invaders were able to raid without leaving any trace, but they could shrink the possibilities after witnessing their escape.
Also, the invaders had access to a quasi-rank 6 spell.
The rulers of a big nation couldn't ignore such a threat anymore, and they were bound to start a thorough investigation as soon as possible. The large variety of studies of the Royals would focus teleportation matrix and would eventually lead to the conclusion that only a separate dimension could act in that way.
As for how close to the truth those investigations would bring them, Noah and the elders could only make suppositions.
"We might need to consider destroying the dimension in the worst possible outcome," Noah said to conclude that discussion.
There wasn't much that they could do without information, and the Hive had yet to give them directives. They could only go back to their caves and wait for the situation to evolve.
It didn't take much before something important happened right after the event with the Royal academy.
The silver-haired cultivators of the Elbas family flew toward the headquarters of the other two big nations and Hive while carrying a golden letter in their hands. Two of them went toward the Empire, two met the Council, and one of them reached for the forest of White Woods.
The Wardens, the rank 5 elders of the Hive, and the higher-ups of the Council intercepted them, but the silver-haired cultivators were only interested in delivering the letters.
Each of those forces felt extremely surprised when it saw the words "Royal Invitation" written on the front of those golden sheets.