[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system":3,"chapter-the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-103":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Exiled Duke's Lottery system",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1366811,1809,"Chapter 103 - 96: The Iron Frontier","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-103",103,"\u003Cp>Snowstorms swept across the western frontier as thousands of workers, soldiers, and engineers flooded the northern passes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elarion had begun transforming the border itself into a fortress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The order spread through Elarion before sunrise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every regiment commander. Every engineering corps officer. Every industrial supervisor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prepare for war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lucien intended to make certain the enemy never reached Elarion itself\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Fortress Elarion, the central war chamber remained active deep into the night while massive maps covered nearly every wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern invasion estimates rested directly at the center table:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>8 mana cavalry regiments,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>14 mana-armored infantry regiments,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>12,000 conventional cavalry,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>60,000 infantry levies,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>battlefield mage detachments,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>siege assets still assembling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Enough force to crush most northern territories completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric studied the reports silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked toward Lucien.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s an actual army.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No,\" Lucien answered calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It’s a feudal army.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room quieted slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because somehow—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those words sounded dismissive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen folded his arms nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You have a plan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien stepped toward the frontier maps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he pointed toward the western mountain approaches leading into Elarion territory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These roads decide the war.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers immediately focused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The western passes were narrow. Frozen. Mountainous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perfect defensive terrain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lucien intended to make them hell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Begin full trench construction.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several officers immediately began writing orders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Layered defensive lines across all western approaches.\" \"Anti-cavalry obstacles.\" \"Underground supply bunkers.\" \"Reinforced artillery positions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You already planned this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly not surprising anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas studied the map carefully afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re not defending Elarion city itself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien’s finger moved toward the frontier mountain corridors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We stop them here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far from the factories. Far from the industrial heartland.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strategy became obvious immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Force the southern army into narrow kill zones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then destroy them through:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>artillery,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>rifle fire,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>trenches,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and attrition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen slowly nodded afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They’ll bleed themselves trying to advance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within days the western frontier transformed completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thousands of workers arrived under military escort while excavation equipment rolled through the snow-covered valleys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Entire forests disappeared beneath logging operations. Stone bunkers emerged across ridge lines. Artillery positions carved directly into mountain slopes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And most shocking of all—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trenches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Long defensive scars spread across the frozen frontier like wounds across the earth itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep. Layered. Reinforced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Connected through:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>communication tunnels,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>supply routes,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>hidden artillery positions,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and protected ammunition depots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even veteran soldiers stared uneasily at the growing defenses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because this no longer resembled medieval warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen rode across the frontier construction lines beneath freezing winds while engineers worked day and night around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Reinforce the western trench walls!\" \"Move the artillery platforms higher!\" \"Expand the secondary firing lines!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The peak knight stopped near one newly completed defensive sector afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rows of sharpened anti-cavalry stakes covered the frozen ground ahead of the trenches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>machine gun emplacements under construction,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>artillery bunkers,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>rifle firing positions,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and reinforced command dugouts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then workers began unrolling massive coils of razor wire across the snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One older knight nearby frowned deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What even is that?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An engineer answered proudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Steel entanglement wire.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The knight looked disturbed already.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It looks evil.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The razor wire spread endlessly across the frontier approaches afterward:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>layered,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>hidden beneath snow,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>reinforced with steel stakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cavalry would never charge through it cleanly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infantry would become trapped beneath rifle fire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And that was exactly the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farther behind the trench network—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavy artillery positions expanded continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twenty field cannons of the First Rifle Regiment now overlooked the main western approach from reinforced mountain bunkers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Additional artillery followed daily from Elarion factories.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coal arrived constantly. Ammunition stockpiles expanded. Supply depots buried themselves beneath stone and steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elarion was not preparing for a battle anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was preparing for a campaign.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep within the frontier command bunker, Cedric stared at the growing defensive plans spread across the operations table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...This is excessive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien calmly reviewed artillery deployment schedules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric pointed toward one section of the trench network.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You built three fallback defense lines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And hidden reserve artillery positions.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And overlapping machine gun sectors.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien looked up briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric slowly rubbed his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re building a meat grinder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Lucien answered calmly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If the south insists on war...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes shifted toward the western frontier maps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...then we ensure they pay for every meter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room grew quiet afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because nobody there doubted him anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later that evening, Aurethar landed atop one of the frontier ridges while snowstorms swept across the growing trench systems below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For several moments the ancient golden dragon simply stared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Miles of trenches stretched across the frozen valleys beneath him. Steel wire glinted beneath the snow. Artillery bunkers hid among the mountain cliffs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Aurethar looked impressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...You turned the frontier into a fortress.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien stood beside the ridge command position calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dragon observed the defenses quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then finally:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The south expects glorious battles.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far below, workers continued digging through the frozen earth beneath lantern light while artillery crews reinforced firing platforms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien’s gaze remained fixed toward the southern horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They won’t get one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere far to the south—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nobles preparing their grand invasion still imagined:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>cavalry charges,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>knight breakthroughs,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>heroic warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They still did not understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The western frontier was becoming a machine built for killing armies.\u003C\u002Fp>",876,"2026-06-05T21:32:57.730Z",1,"novelbin.me","a002835241051073113cf663a21517ced9a4e2f4277c79a9208cc104daad9989","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-104","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-102",144,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-cover.jpg"]