Bribing

Was the Mage Country strong? The answer was an obvious yes. However, even though the Mage Country technically counted as a mega-empire, everyone knew that it wasn't even a country. It was simply a place where countless mages gathered. Ignoring the countless mid- and low-ranked mages, when one only counted those archmages that had obtained the Emblem of Endless Truth and considered if all these top-level mages acted together in unison…

Alright then, everyone knew that was basically impossible. After all, every mage had their own desires, their own goals in life, and their own research topics they were interested in. Wanting them to act together in unison for a country's goal was unimaginable. This was also the main reason why the Mage Country had never expanded their territory ever since Arlodant had been founded. They lacked the necessity of expanding their borders.