Chaoxiang arrived in the main hall, taking in the bustling activity around him. The large room was filled with people gathering reports, strategic papers, and other vital documents. The leaders of the Final Frontier were taking their seats around the massive central table. When Edina entered, dressed in her elegant princess gown, she took a seat near Chaoxiang, and the meeting began in earnest.

The discussion quickly turned to the dire situation of the city’s resources. Food and water were depleting rapidly, and it was nothing short of a miracle that no large-scale conflicts had erupted. Any significant unrest could lead to the demons discovering their hidden city, so it was imperative that problems were resolved calmly and efficiently.

Each leader had a translator by their side, fluent in Leonese, it has become the common language used to facilitate communication among the diverse group because of its widespread use in intercontinental trade. As the meeting progressed, various solutions to the resource crisis were proposed and debated. Finally, Chaoxiang spoke up, his voice steady and authoritative.

"So, the only solution is for a small team of mages and martial artists to retrieve crops and seeds from nearby cities?" he suggested.

Edina translated his words for the others. An old man, in his sixties, responded in thick Western Arcanis, which was then translated by his aide.

“Lord Henry says, that’s the most logical solution, but we can’t risk them being followed by demons back to Myrithia. We’ve survived this long because the demons haven’t found our location. If they do, humanity will undoubtedly be doomed.”

Many of the leaders nodded in agreement with this assessment. The room buzzed with the gravity of the situation. Just then, a messenger entered and handed a note to a young woman in her early twenties. She read it quickly, then spoke in clear Hilosian, her words translated for the assembly.

“My Lady Aisha says her researchers have discovered a way to grow potatoes in the southern fields of the city. If we can somehow maintain our current stock until they grow, we will be relieved. However, the problem is water. It rarely rains in Myrithia, so drinking water is a bigger issue right now.”

The timing of this news seemed almost miraculous, and the leaders exchanged hopeful glances. The conversation then shifted to brainstorming ways to address the drinking water shortage. Various ideas were proposed, from digging deeper wells to implementing water purification techniques.

After discussing the minor issues and potential solutions, the leaders began giving reports on their respective tasks. Each one detailed their progress and setbacks, the mood in the room a mix of determination and apprehension.

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The old man, Henry, started speaking in Arcanis, his words translated for the assembly. "Lord Henry has a comprehensive report on the biological traits of the demons and the creatures of the underworld. There are things we mostly knew, but some new discoveries have been made that might be of help."

All the leaders nodded, their attention focused on Henry. He continued, his words translated, "The physicians and researchers assigned to him have findings. As we knew, there are two types of demonic beings from the underworld: one that seems intelligent and is able to communicate with us, and another that consists of mindless beasts. The researchers named them Demons and Demonic Beasts respectively. As far as we understand, Demons are intelligent and humanoid with horns and wings, while Demonic Beasts come in all forms, from four-legged monstrous dogs to flying reptiles. Demonic Beasts are more akin to the animals of the underworld."

This was common knowledge, but Henry was re-establishing it for the newer members or for anyone who didn't know the difference. Then the translator continued, "Lord Henry and his researchers have found that Demons and Demonic Beasts' bodies are formed from pure mana and not lifeforce like us or the animals in our world. When either of these creatures is fatally wounded by a red-black steel weapon, their bodies dissolve into mana."

Again, this was common knowledge. Henry finally continued with their real findings. "As you might have guessed, because of this, wounding demons or demonic beasts is difficult since they can heal even the toughest wounds with their combat arts. Killing them without a red-black steel weapon to collect their bodies is nearly impossible." He paused before continuing, his words translated, "However, we have gotten a few bodies recently to inspect, thanks to the Leonese princess." He looked at Edina and nodded before continuing.

"These creatures' biology is very different from anything Lord Henry's researchers have ever seen. Each demon has two hearts, and the number of horns grows as they age. The researchers believe it to be a ranking system among demons based on how many horns one has."

Everyone nodded at this new information, processing the implications. Then the young lady, Aisha, spoke, her words translated for all. "Lady Aisha and her research into the demons' combat arts have yielded informative findings that can be connected to why the demons have two hearts."

All eyes turned to Aisha as everyone was given a paper report translated into their respective languages. "The demons' combat arts, as far as we know, are called Alchemy by them. Unlike the combat arts of the Eastern continent, which rely on martial arts, or the magical arts of the Western continent, the demons don't purify a portion of lifeforce into either mana or qi like us. Instead, they seem to use lifeforce as it is to convert physical objects into another kind of object. For example, they can turn air into fire or wood into metal."

The room was silent as everyone listened intently to these new findings. "Since they are made of mana, they can also use magic, as we discovered in the recent deciphering of the demons' belongings we captured,'' she paused before continuing. "However, magic is seen as a lesser art among them since they can do it as easily as learning to walk. We found in the documents that a demon is born with a mana core, unlike us human mages who create one in our hearts after purifying lifeforce into mana. As such, demons create artificial hearts as soon as a baby is born so that they can make an alchemic soul when they learn alchemy. The alchemic soul is something similar to a mana core or qi core but made up of unpurified lifeforce."

This revelation sent murmurs through the room. The idea of demons using their lifeforce directly without purification was both fascinating and alarming. It explained their formidable strength and resilience in combat.

Henry nodded in agreement, adding, "These findings suggest that the demons' combat arts are intrinsically tied to their very being. Their ability to manipulate matter and energy at will makes them incredibly dangerous. Understanding this is crucial for developing strategies to combat them effectively."

Suddenly, one of the researchers seated beside Henry whispered something in his ear. Henry's eyes widened in surprise, and he quickly conveyed the message to the translator, who also showed a stunned expression. The translator then spoke, "Lord Henry says the researchers might have found a way to defeat the demons based on Lady Aisha’s team’s findings."

Everyone in the room was stunned and immediately turned their attention to the researcher, their curiosity and hope piqued.