William is arrested by the Nameless Order, and is locked up in the Wall. While Lin investigates, Tovar and Ballard steal a supply of black powder and escape, knocking William unconscious for trying to stop them. However, the Imperial envoy claims the monster and takes it to the capital to present to the Emperor.Ī tunnel is discovered at the base of the Wall the previous attacks had been a distraction, while the Tao Tieh dug the tunnel. They capture a living Tao Tei and prove the theory. This delays his escape plans, angering Tovar, who nevertheless assists William despite Ballard's protests.ĭuring the next attack, the Tao Tei are numerous enough to cause Lin to resort to using arrows equipped with black powder, whose capabilities had been kept secret from the Westerners until now. To test the hypothesis, William suggests they capture a Tao Tei alive and agrees to help. Wang believes the stone William carries enabled him to slay the Tao Tei he fought at the cave. Around this time, an envoy from the capital arrives with an ancient scroll which suggests that the monsters are pacified by magnets. General Shao is killed, placing Commander Lin in charge of the Nameless Order. That night, two Tao Tei reach the top of the Wall.
The three Europeans secretly plan to steal gunpowder and flee during the next monster attack. This earns William and Tovar the Order's respect. William and Tovar display amazing battle skills, saving the life of young warrior Peng Yong, then slaying two monsters that scale the Wall. Detained, he now serves as an English and Latin teacher. During the battle, William and Tovar are freed by Ballard, another European who ventured east, twenty-five years earlier, in search of gunpowder. While examining the severed monster arm, the Order's commanders are surprised by the first assault from the monster horde, one week early.īoth sides sustain heavy losses before the monsters' queen aborts the attack. The Tao Tei came to Earth when a meteorite came down from the heavens. The Nameless Order exists to combat a horde of alien monsters called Tao Tei, which attacks once every sixty years. The next day, reaching the Wall, they are taken prisoner by soldiers of the Nameless Order, led by General Shao and Strategist Wang. They cut off the monster's arm and bring it with them. Resting in a cave a few miles north of the Great Wall, they are attacked by a monster, leaving only William and Tovar alive. A band of European mercenaries, including William Garin and Pero Tovar, travel to China during the reign of the Renzong Emperor, in search of the secret to gunpowder.