Empire will not allow the existence of a strong neighbor. And the point here is not that the curse of the Ukto Pass again urinated on the altar. The breakthrough of the abyss on the territory of the empire, too, has nothing to do with it, even if it was the training of his students. The fact is that any strong neighbor is always a threat. The threat of the existence of the empire itself. It's always been that way. That is why the empire has never had strong neighbors. They simply did not have time to gain strength. This means that the Free Lands are not waiting for anything other than war. Well, since war is inevitable, then... Why not hit first?