Thinking about it carefully, during the Seventh Galactic War, the main fleets of the two great hegemonies had fought fiercely across the Terosa Star Gorge, and each had called in all the smaller powers in its camp. More than five thousand warships had gathered on either side of Dragon Gate Fortress, giving the whole thing the makings of a decisive battle for the galaxy. In reality, though, both sides had been very cautious about how they deployed their forces. At the very least, they hadn't let the fighting spread directly to each other's home territory.
Of course, there was no avoiding the fighting spilling into the allied states of the respective sides, but that was simply the price of war.
We all knew that beating a dog and beating its owner were two different things.
But just because the open fighting hadn't spread like wildfire didn't mean the flames weren't burning in the world of intelligence. The Alliance could foment color revolutions in the Empire's subject states, and the Empire would ram a dump truck into the Security Bureau's headquarters. If the Empire dared assassinate key officials, the Alliance would plant remote-controlled bombs in the other side's military warehouses and set off a blazing inferno.
Some of these incidents were "confirmed" to be the work of terrorists, some were merely rumors circulating in the underworld, and some were nothing but urban legends. But every one of them sent a chill down Yu Lian's spine.
He only hoped that, whatever grudges the two countries had, they would find some remote, scenic place to settle them on their own. Above all, he hoped they wouldn't hold up construction of his dreadnought.
"Rhees, there's one thing we should all understand. We can't count on our enemies' sense of honor to keep the peace.