[{"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-107":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},1366815,1809,"Chapter 107 - 100: The Night Before Fire","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-107",107,"\u003Cp>Snow fell softly across the western frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tomorrow—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southern coalition would attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And across the frozen valleys, nearly a hundred thousand soldiers prepared for battle while noble commanders spoke confidently beside warm campfires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They still believed numbers would decide the war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile inside Elarion’s trench network—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien prepared for something entirely different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The frontier command bunker remained active deep into the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Officers moved constantly between communication tables while runners carried deployment orders through underground tunnels connecting the trench systems.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Artillery coordinates covered entire walls. Enemy formations had already been mapped carefully. Every valley. Every choke point. Every likely cavalry route.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien stood beside the operational table silently while the senior commanders gathered around him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen. Cedric. Lucas. Artillery officers. Machine gun commanders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere felt cold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not one person there expected glory tomorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only survival and destruction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Final deployment confirmation,\" Malen reported.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The First Rifle Regiment fully occupies the primary trench lines.\" \"Secondary reserves positioned behind western ridge sectors.\" \"Artillery crews awaiting firing authorization.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien nodded once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What about machine gun teams?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A younger officer immediately stepped forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Twelve operational heavy machine gun nests across the main trench sectors.\" \"Additional reserve positions concealed behind secondary lines.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric crossed his arms nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And overheating?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That question immediately mattered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the machine guns remained terrifying— but unreliable under prolonged firing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officer answered carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cooling systems improved.\" \"But sustained fire still risks barrel warping and feed failures.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien looked toward the trench maps afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then calmly issued the order:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Machine guns fire only in short bursts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several officers immediately began recording instructions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No uncontrolled suppression fire.\" \"No continuous firing unless absolutely necessary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His finger moved across the operational sectors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are force multipliers.\" \"Not replacements for discipline.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The machine gun commanders nodded immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everyone understood the danger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If crews panicked and fired continuously:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>barrels would overheat,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>mechanisms would jam,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>ammunition would vanish too quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Short bursts preserved:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>accuracy,cooling,and psychological effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien wanted the weapons terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not wasteful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next came the shoulder-fired explosive launchers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several reinforced weapon cases rested along the bunker walls while specialized anti-armor warheads remained under heavy guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even nearby officers looked uneasy around them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mostly because everyone had seen the testing results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mana-armored infantry reduced to fragments. Steel targets erased completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien studied the deployment lists carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many launcher teams ready?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thirty-six.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not many.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen folded his arms afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where do you want them positioned?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien answered immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hidden reserve trenches.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room sharpened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do not reveal them early.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes moved toward the southern deployment estimates pinned across the command wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The launchers exist for one purpose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone already understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mana cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mana-armored shock infantry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elite southern forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Traditional rifle fire could wound them. Artillery could break formations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the shoulder-fired cannons—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those weapons could obliterate them completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien’s voice remained calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They fire only when the enemy elite units close distance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No unnecessary early shots. No revealing weapon positions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted the southern nobles confident right until the moment their elite troops began exploding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric looked toward the operational maps afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And the landships?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That question changed the atmosphere slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because unlike trenches and artillery—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The landships remained unknown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The south had no idea armored steam vehicles even existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three massive armored vehicles now waited hidden behind reinforced mountain hangars beneath heavy camouflage coverings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Experimental. Unstable. Terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien remained silent briefly before answering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They stay hidden.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen nodded slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want surprise impact.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The landships were not ready for prolonged warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Too few. Too experimental. Too slow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But psychologically?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could shatter morale completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially against feudal armies expecting melee combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not armored moving fortresses with machine guns mounted across steel hulls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien’s gaze shifted toward the western valleys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We use them only when the southern advance commits fully.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The officers immediately understood the strategy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let the enemy believe:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>trenches were the primary defense,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>rifles were the main threat,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>artillery was the worst Elarion possessed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then unleash the landships once the battle reached maximum chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shock. Confusion. Panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>warfare depended as much on morale collapse as casualties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far above the bunker, the trench systems remained eerily quiet beneath the snowfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riflemen waited silently in firing positions while machine gun crews performed final maintenance checks beneath reinforced coverings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One young soldier stared nervously toward the endless southern campfires filling the horizon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Do you think we can actually stop them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, a veteran rifleman calmly loaded ammunition clips into prepared crates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We don’t need to stop all of them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The younger soldier blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The veteran pointed toward the valleys below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We only need to kill enough.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young soldier slowly looked outward again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Toward:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the trenches\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the hidden machine gun nests,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and the endless fields of razor wire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Far to the south, noble commanders celebrated confidently inside massive command tents while servants poured wine beside roaring fires.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maps spread across long tables showed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>cavalry breakthroughs,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>infantry assaults,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and siege operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One noble commander laughed while pointing toward the trench systems marked across the battlefield map.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By tomorrow evening we’ll be inside Elarion territory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another raised his goblet confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To the destruction of northern arrogance.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cheers followed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Kassian remained silent near the edge of the command tent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because somehow—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The confidence surrounding him no longer felt reassuring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt blind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the tent, snow continued falling softly across the valleys between two worlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One still believed in noble warfare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other had already begun replacing it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And by sunrise—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first collision between them would begin.\u003C\u002Fp>",919,"2026-06-05T21:32:57.730Z",1,"novelbin.me","b0791276ed70de3c3e84cd06d2994e9655ee36a2cef6430f969c7a1a98bd2c2a","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-108","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-106",144,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-cover.jpg"]