That was war. The troops on the front lines only needed to think about how to kill the enemy and avoid getting killed. The bigwigs back home, on the other hand, had a lot more to consider.
Logistics, supplies, personnel, production, public order, the impact of the war effort on society as a whole, and strategic considerations for the nation and even the entire universe—all of it was enough to give the assembled dignitaries sleepless nights.
Whether their deliberations actually did any good was beside the point. At least they had put in the thought, and that deserved some credit, didn't it?
Besides, they had to manage people as well as plan, which naturally took even more effort.
Things only went right when the right people were in place. At any rate, the more exalted a bigwig's position, the more firmly they believed that.
A frontline commander like Yu Lian could hardly understand the toil of Earth's dignitaries. He just wanted to take care of the matters at hand, one by one.
And so, the month that had just passed had been busy, but uncomplicated.
On the whole, the month had remained a stalemate. Things were quiet around the Southern Heavenly Gate, while the minor clashes in the Far Shore region felt more like routine business. Yu Lian had no urgent battles to deal with, but the month had still been quite full.
In the Tianshu system, Yu Lian, his friends, and the other researchers still hadn't figured out how the Eighth Star Gate activated.
Professor Jinov thought it was because they didn't have enough samples.
"You said the same thing before Fleet Yang arrived."
"Yes, so I've changed my mind. That's science for you: making assumptions, then disproving them. General, you're a reasonable man who sees the bigger picture.