[{"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-57":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},1366765,1809,"Chapter 57 - 53: The First Marksmen","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-57",57,"\u003Cp>The rifle workshops never truly slept anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even before sunrise, furnace fires already burned across the western district while workers moved between forge halls carrying steel, charcoal, tools, and unfinished rifle parts through the cold morning air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire area smelled of smoke, iron, and burned oil now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elarion was changing faster than most people realized.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Lucien intended to push that change further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the main command hall, maps covered nearly every table while reports from mines, workshops, patrol routes, and construction teams remained stacked in uneven piles across the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas stood at the center of the chaos looking personally betrayed by paperwork.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You want more steel.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien nodded once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You already requested expanded furnace output yesterday.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You requested more charcoal processing two days ago.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And now you want additional rifle production.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien looked toward the administrator calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas stared at him silently for several seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then slowly rubbed both hands across his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At some point,\" he muttered, \"the north itself is going to send me a complaint.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen stood nearby with arms crossed while Gandalf sat near the fireplace drinking tea with the expression of a man intentionally avoiding responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric meanwhile studied the latest rifle production reports carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The dwarves believe we can increase output,\" he said eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas looked horrified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That sentence worries me now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric ignored him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But not quickly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed several metal components onto the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The rifled barrels take far longer than smoothbores.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Accuracy requires precision,\" Malen said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room became silent briefly afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because everyone there understood the importance of the rifles now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first successful tests changed perspectives completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knights who once mocked firearms had stopped laughing after watching reinforced armor plates split apart from hundreds of meters away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Distance mattered differently now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien stepped toward the central map table afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We won’t mass produce them yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas visibly relaxed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Lucien continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’ll form a dedicated regiment first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The administrator immediately looked tired again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen’s eyes narrowed with interest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A specialized unit?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The rifles are too valuable right now to distribute randomly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And too dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though he didn’t say that part aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Training remained difficult. Reload speed remained slow. Powder quality remained inconsistent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in disciplined hands—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rifles could already alter battlefield balance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric looked toward the weapon resting against the nearby wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How many?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien thought briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fifty to start.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas blinked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Fifty?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too many?\" Gandalf asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Too expensive,\" Lucas corrected immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old mage waved dismissively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Economics are temporary.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That may be the worst sentence ever spoken inside this fortress.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint laugh escaped Malen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Very faint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone noticed anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas pointed immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You laughed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I exhaled differently.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That was emotional expression.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It will not happen again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric quietly looked away to hide his smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien ignored them and continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The regiment will include both knights and common soldiers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That finally shifted the atmosphere properly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen looked toward him carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mixed ranks?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several seconds passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not disagreement exactly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because military structure across the kingdom remained heavily divided by birth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knights commanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Commoners followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But rifles complicated that balance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A trained farmer with a rifled weapon could potentially kill armored cavalry from impossible distances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That truth made traditional nobles uncomfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen eventually spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Some knights won’t like serving beside commoners.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien answered calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then they can leave.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silence followed immediately afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucas looked toward him briefly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just thoughtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because that answer carried consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet nobody argued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The north didn’t possess the luxury of clinging to old pride anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not if survival remained the priority.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside the fortress later that afternoon, recruitment trials began across the lower training grounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Word spread rapidly through Elarion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lord himself was forming a new military regiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not ordinary infantry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marksmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name alone sounded unusual enough to attract attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Workers gathered around the edges of the snowy training field while knights, guards, hunters, scouts, and even several miners waited in organized lines beneath the cold northern wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rifles rested atop reinforced tables nearby beneath armed supervision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few people had seen them closely before today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now everyone stared openly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A group of younger guards whispered quietly among themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They look heavier than muskets.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I heard one shot punched through steel armor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That rumor grows every hour.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It punched through two plates yesterday.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No it didn’t.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Probably.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further behind them, one older knight looked openly skeptical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These weapons reload too slowly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A bowman fires faster.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen overheard while walking past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both knights immediately straightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Peak Knight stopped beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But a bowman cannot kill heavily armored targets from three hundred meters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Neither answered afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because there was no real response to that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien eventually arrived alongside Lucas and Cedric while the gathered crowd quieted almost immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Snow drifted lightly across the training grounds while distant furnace smoke rose behind the fortress walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien looked across the assembled men carefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hunters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Former mercenaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Common laborers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even one fisherman apparently volunteered after hearing \"thunder weapons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Interesting recruitment standards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Lucien spoke simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These rifles are difficult to make.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The wind carried his voice clearly across the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They require discipline. Patience. Precision.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several workers listened carefully now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These weapons are not replacements for knights.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few nobles visibly relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Lucien continued:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are weapons that allow ordinary soldiers to stand beside them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The atmosphere shifted again immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not everyone liked hearing that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But many did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the commoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien gestured toward the firing range beyond the snowy field afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Anyone joining this regiment will train harder than ordinary infantry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then toward the rifles resting nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And anyone careless with these weapons will be removed immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No dramatic speech.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No grand promises.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just simple truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oddly enough—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That worked better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The selection trials began soon afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And almost immediately chaos followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One recruit dropped powder into the snow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another forgot to brace properly and nearly fell backward from recoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knight accidentally fired before aiming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One dwarf watching nearby laughed so hard he nearly collapsed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Humans invent advanced weapons and still cannot hold them correctly!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cedric pointed toward the dwarf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You’re three feet tall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And yet superior.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Malen personally supervised accuracy testing afterward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Which terrified nearly everyone involved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Peak Knight walked silently behind firing lines correcting posture with brutal efficiency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Elbow higher.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Grip tighter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are aiming at the mountain.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One nervous recruit swallowed hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Sorry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The mountain has done nothing to deserve this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Lucien almost smiled at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By sunset the first selection phase ended.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifty-two candidates remained standing in the snow while exhausted workers cleared the range nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mixed among them: knights hunters guards common laborers\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one looked comfortable standing beside each other yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they remained there anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucien stepped forward once more while the newly selected soldiers faced him beneath fading evening light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind them, the furnaces of Elarion burned against the darkening snow-covered valley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are the first.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simple words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet every man there understood their meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first rifle regiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first marksmen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The beginning of something entirely new.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere deep inside the capital far to the south—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Powerful people would eventually learn what Elarion had started building in the snow.\u003C\u002Fp>",1211,"2026-06-05T21:32:57.730Z",1,"novelbin.me","7af5c887c45040f8a2f7c04112f521550bb98c3bdaa8d5778b4eae682fe22186","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-58","the-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-chapter-56",144,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-exiled-duke-s-lottery-system-cover.jpg"]