BOOK 2 OF THE WAR OF THE DRAGON THRONE MILITARY HISTORICAL FANTASY SERIES EYES AS RED AS MOLTEN STEEL, EARS CURVED AND POINTED LIKE A BAT'S, AND TEETH AS SHARP AS A WOLF'S. THEY CALL THEMSELVES THE "TERUKK". . . As Captain Shao Lian battles through his harrowing campaign in the cold deserts of the western frontier, powerful enigmatic nonhumans arrive on the shores of the Ming Empire. The foreigners claim to seek trade and establish diplomatic relations, but a secret society of warrior-scholars launch intensive investigations to uncover the truth of their agenda to restore the ancient world order of prehistory. Now the emperor, his court, and the entire Ming Dynasty fall under the threat of invasion while rebel forces and criminal groups from the underworld rise to bring civil war and chaos in the realm. The warrior-scholars employ Sun Xin, a legendary wandering swordsman, and a group of wayfaring rogues to come to the emperor’s aid and take back control of the nation. As the emperor and his generals rally the imperial armies, a mysterious sage emerges from obscurity to warn everyone that the real battle is, in fact, a spiritual one, and that victory lies in following the will of Heaven.