*Lucas Jaeger*

  A key feature of a presentation was explaining things in a way that your audience could understand or, alternatively, burying them in things they can not understand so they feel too embarrassed from ignorance to question you. That last part was the escape a lesser presenter might take when confronted with a daunting task like trying to explain biology centuries ahead of their audiences understanding. Lucas, on the other hand, came from a school of thought that believed that without laypeople being able to understand at least some parts of science they would eventually resist science altogether. He could think of a few examples from his home world, but he would rather not- even a world away, just thinking about those people caused his blood to boil.

  Still, giving his limitations, and the level of science in this world, this meeting was not the easiest. He was explaining the results of his findings to a mixed group of military commanders and nobles, and the implications those findings might have.

  “Despite their humanoid shape,” Lucas was saying. “They have essentially nothing in common with our anatomy. Even their skeletal structure seems odd at first glance, until you consider their lack of organs at least.”

  “The easiest example of this is in their chest. Their rib cage really is not only dissimilar in terms of its basic form, but is far different in function, existing more to connect its tissue than to protect any part of its body.”

  “With respect,” one of the commanders interjected. “How does this help us fight them?”

  Lucas was actually rather stunned for a second- wasn’t it obvious?

  “The weapons you are using are designed to kill people,” Lucas said with a raised eyebrow. “To kill a demon, you considered how you would kill one another- but the tool used to kill something depends on what you are trying to kill. In short, with some changes to equipment you will kill them better.”

  “Look at it this way,” Lucas thought the simplest example would be best for now. “Humans have a lot of weak points- so do most animals- and all you need to do is damage one of those to kill something. A spear to the chest is effective because if you make it past the rib cage basically everything past it is necessary for a person to keep living. In a similar fashion, a knife to the gut is dangerous because of the nature of the organs there- having stomach acid leak into your body is a ticket to a slow and painful death.”

  “Aside from their head, subject D1- an ‘imp’- has no points in the body vital for its survival. They appear to have an advanced form of tracheal breathing that utilizes both spiracles- which is to say, small holes around the body through which air can enter- and the ability to inhale with their mouths when they need a greater amount of oxygen, but the nature of the system means that damaging it does not stop it- it is too decentralized. Their digestive system is similar, but I have no clue how it works other than the food is liquified and moved around the body and digested in many different areas. Frankly, that is mostly guesswork on my part. But the point is, essentially, stabbing this things body is mostly useless.”

  “So how would you kill it then?” Another person asked, but Lucas did not catch which one.

  “Well, my knowledge of war is a bit limited, but your best bet is probably to use something like an axe.” Lucas was aware that they used stabbing weapons because the cartilage plates that the demon had formed a natural armor and that it was far easier to put a spear through a gap that it was to cut it with a sword. “I am guessing that your normal swords are less effective giving its defenses, so take an axe to them.”

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  That was met with frowns and scowls from around the table, apparently axes were not very popular. Well, Lucas was not an expert on ancient battles, so how would he know?

  “Lucas,” it was Julian who addressed him this time. “Axes are difficult to wield in formation, and their top heavy nature makes it easy for soldiers to overextend with them. Many demons have the advantage of being nimble and able to take advantage of openings. So despite the efficacy against imps, axes are not something we can really use.”

  Lucas shrugged, “then a flanged mace then would be my other suggestion. Their natural armor is less useful against crushing blows than stabbing ones- after all, it disperses force into the skeletal structure and they do have bones you can break.”

  “What kind of mace did you say?” Julian frowned and Lucas raised an eyebrow.

  “A flanged mace- please do not tell me you have not invented those, even if most people do not know the name they could recognize one on sight, and that is in a world where it has not seen use for centuries!”

  In the end, Lucas had to draw the weapon out for them, much to his dismay. Lucas had, reasonably in his opinion, thought that his half assed knowledge of medieval weapons would be useless here, but apparently not.

  “Okay, enough.” Lucas said after he had explained how and why the flanged mace was so effective, to the excitement of the people listening. Maces, after all, were relatively easy to use and if it was effective as Lucas claimed it could be a strong advantage against the intelligent demons- hell, even the lesser ones. “I have to ask, what the fuck have you people been doing for the past three thousand plus years? By all accounts, you were at roughly the same level of technology then as you are now, where is your development?”

  “Killed and consumed by demons, no doubt.” It was Prince Treslux who answered that. “Even in the years where we were doing well and had retaken most of the continent a massive amount of people were sent to fight, and die, against the demons. Oftentimes, if the historical records are accurate, it would take the vast majority of humanities resources just to hold those lines- it was a fragile balance and you can see the result of when that balance faltered.”

  Lucas sighed, “well, that is not something I can argue with, I apologize for my outburst. But something needs to change, your technology needs to grow, and I can not be the only one to do it. By that I do not mean that I could not sit here and eventually figure out how to make you better armor and weapons, but that my education and background give me a far better headstart elsewhere, and I am better used there. Therefore, the only option is to create teams of researchers to accomplish goals and to see what they come up with- I will get back to you on that later, but I do expect your cooperation.”

  “Researchers? Teams? What kind of goals are you talking about here?”

  “Well a simple example would be putting together a group of people and telling them to find a way to kill demons better.” Lucas had always been a fan of practical research, it was always so much easier to get funding for! “Their goal is not precisely to kill demons, but to find a better way to do so than currently. Making that someone’s job will eventually lead to growth in that field which can then be applied to society as a whole. While I would not have time to personally overlook every group I would like to set up, I can certainly give them a few pointers on where to start.”

  Prince Treslux gave his approval, not that Lucas particularly cared about that, and so the matter was settled. For all Lucas knew about biology in general, and what he had learned specifically about the demons, turning that into practical warfare was something else. His mace design was useful, but honestly he only knew about it from its presence in video games that he had played- he had little to know practical information about it aside from what he could logically intuit.

  Therefore, it would be better to hand off his findings to another group- preferably one made of veteran soldiers with some education- and tell them to kill the demons better. With some education reform, in a couple of decades this could become far easier to do- simply because there were more educated and intelligent people to do the work, but that was getting ahead of himself.

  For now, he was heading back to see what Heidall had been up to in his absence. A good night's sleep and he would leave in the morning.

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