Page 35 of The Last Strike

To die for their kingdom.

There were so many ... tens of thousands, but Asher still didn’t know if it was enough.

He looked to James, who nodded. Asher picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the only saved number: Luang’s Commander in Chief.

“This is King Asher. Code 62099879. Proceed,” he instructed, once again praying that Luang was on his side.

“Copy.”

Asher hung up the phone and the realization hit him hard. He felt numb. Had he just sentenced thousands of soldiers to their deaths?

Asher silently counted the seconds, knowing that the region—the world—would change once this battle began. For all the talk of war and the recent attacks, this felt like the true beginning.

He watched as the drones were launched and sent into Adani. The soldiers moved in groups, making their way to the border, which was lined with Adani soldiers.

The unmistakable sound of gunfire echoed through the screens. It sounded like a scene from a movie, but this was real life—and real people. People Asher was responsible for. He felt no joy from this.

He rubbed his aching jaw and chastised himself for grinding his teeth so hard. He was going to have a migraine if he didn’t ease up.

It didn’t take long for Adani to retaliate, and soon the dots began moving furiously around the screen, some blinking and disappearing.

This had to be worth it.

Asher would make their lives count for something.

“Asher, I’m monitoring Adani’s activity on their borders,” Samuel said. “They have the greatest manpower on the Santina-Adani border, which is to be expected, followed by the Arinia-Adani and then the Valencia-Adani borders.”

Asher stared at the screen. It was hard to tell given that the dots easily blurred into one giant mass. But still, Samuel was correct. Valencia wasn’t being targeted as heavily as Santina.

Asher was still staring at the screen when King Luang called.

“Hello,” Asher said, unable to tear his eyes away from the dots on the screens: the men fighting for their region.

“Arinia is sending more soldiers in,” Luang said, not bothering with pleasantries.

“Valencia is doing well,” Asher said, his eyes on the screen.

“To be expected. Khalil knows we have the manpower to fight back. My guess is he’s just trying to hold the border at this point, not gain an advantage. He’ll come for us when he can coordinate his troops, but right now, he’s spread too thin.”

Asher nodded slowly—the theory made sense, but it could also be a cover-up.

“He’s spread too thin to beat Arinia too,” Asher said.

“Right, but he knows he has to do what damage he can there. It’s no surprise he beefed up that border. Arinia has already shown their allegiance to Santina. He must put a stop to that, but he won’t.”

Asher prayed that was true.

“Asher, I’m going to give you some advice, so take it or leave it. But don’t sit there all night watching the screens. The commanders are there for a reason, and you should be rested and fresh to make any difficult calls that may need to be made in the morning. Watching them fight is like turning on the news during a natural disaster—you become consumed by it. We have skilled men in charge of this assault, and once they break through the borders, we’ll make the next call. If I were you—and this is what I’m going to do—I would have something to eat, a hot shower, and close my eyes for a few hours.”

“I will,” Asher said, knowing he was right.

“Take care, Asher. I’ll call you if I need to, but get some rest. We must be ready to fight again tomorrow.”

“Talk to you soon, Luang,” Asher replied quietly.

But he didn’t leave and go to bed. Not immediately. He wanted to watch what was happening on every border. He wanted to be prepared for the decisions he would need to make when the sun rose.

Abi

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