Chapter 375 – Ascending to the Summit of the Giant Mountain

Gnoll Fang Lair, a place where the Crimson Mist drifts.

The last remaining Legendary Realm monsters had gathered here.

Two additional figures were present: a Dragon Legend from Dragon’s Slumber Valley and Mirage Armor Legend. The former had escaped from Dolai’s grasp, while the latter had fled from Deadbone.

They had received news of one subordinate tribe after another being eradicated by the living.

A heavy atmosphere permeated the entire lair.

“Do not panic. Our messengers seeking reinforcements from Dragon’s Slumber Valley have already departed. At most within a month or a month and a half, we will surely receive a response from Dragon’s Slumber Valley.”

“Even now, if we consolidate our forces and focus on defense, we need not fear the human forces. We might even inflict significant casualties upon them.”

The Jackal Emperor spoke these words with confidence.

After all, even the peripheral subordinate tribes had managed to cause some losses to the living, let alone the heavily fortified Gnoll Stronghold they had invested vast resources in constructing.

There, he had left some “gifts” for the humans.

…

Beneath the Black Colossus Mountain, hidden within dense forests and white mist.

Hundreds of elite soldiers, commanded by General Dolai, had arrived at this location.

Dolai glanced at Rakshasa within the corps, then shifted its gaze to Bone Four and Sophia.

It was the corps commander, but only in name. Matters requiring brainpower were never its concern. This was what it called “general’s wisdom.”

A massive Frost Dragon descended, and Sario spoke, “Since we’ve discovered the enemy stronghold, why are we waiting? My claws are itching for action.”

Dolai naturally leaned toward direct assault as well. However, since this was Sario’s suggestion, it thought it better to consider others’ opinions.

At that moment, an intangible yet familiar Mental Energy suddenly descended upon the gathered officers.

This Mental Energy coalesced, forming a faintly glowing apparition of Mu Yuan.

This was his Mental Avatar, projected across thousands of kilometers using the Mental Link network as a foundation! Though combat-wise it was weak, the ability to project over such vast distances was nothing short of divine.

Too bad none present knew how to properly flatter.

After a two-second delay, Sario finally said, “We welcome the Lord’s arrival.”

Mu Yuan gazed into the distance.

The trees were tall, the white mist eerie—nothing was visible to the naked eye. But through the shared vision of Sophia’s created Black Crows, he could see a massive fortress standing within the white mist.

This white mist served to block vision, confuse senses, and shield against scrying.

However, for the Black Crows possessing ‘Nightshade Eyes,’ these obscuring effects were meaningless.

The soil outside the fortress was deep crimson, as if stained by repeatedly dried and solidified blood. On either side of the grand fortress gate, ferocious and majestic jackal heads were carved, mouths wide in a roar.

“The interior of the fortress appears heavily guarded and possesses some special detection methods. My Black Crows can slip in, but they rarely last long before losing contact,” Sophia reported.

She had deployed twenty created Black Crows in three batches to infiltrate, yet none survived. The longest-lasting crow remained inside the fortress for only twelve seconds, unable to gather any high-value intelligence.After all, they are merely crows—possessing exceptional reconnaissance and stealth abilities, but their own defense and survivability are extremely poor. Once discovered, they are as good as dead.

Sophia’s reconnaissance of the Jackal Fortress yielded minimal results, but during the brief moment the army corps lingered here, she had already uncovered several Jackal Fang scouts hidden in the surroundings.

Mu Yuan would not let Sophia personally venture deep for reconnaissance. Doing so would be no different from what Sario suggested—charging in recklessly.

His true self, far away in the territory, manipulated the Scepter of Heavenly Authority.

The might of the Heavenly Eye pierced through the mist, taking in everything about the entire Jackal Fortress—all that could be seen from the air—into view.

From this perspective, aside from the denser red mist threads within the fortress, it seemed no different from what was observed during the previous Heavenly Eye reconnaissance.

The only difference was…

There was not a single energy reaction at the Legendary Realm level within the entire Jackal Fortress.

The Jackal Fang had clearly withdrawn all Legendary Realm experts… or perhaps the Legendary Realm experts dared not remain here. However…

“No Legends, yet the entire Jackal Fortress appears determined to hold out to the end. Surely the Jackal Fang doesn’t think the fortress alone can stop our army’s advance?”

He didn’t believe the Jackal Fang would think so.

There might be traps laid within—traps even capable of injuring Legendary Realm experts.

This wasn’t hard to guess.

Yet this was an overt scheme, unless they could resist removing such an important fortress.

Mu Yuan stroked his chin in thought, then after a long pause said, “All troops, retreat ten kilometers.”

Their previous position was still seven or eight kilometers away from the Jackal Fortress.

Typically, the attack range for Legendary Realm experts harnessing the power of heaven and earth is four to six kilometers, though some with special abilities might double this distance.

Present were the most elite soldiers of Tianyuan Territory. At Mu Yuan’s command, hundreds of elites quickly withdrew. The entire retreat process was nearly silent, like specters, with only Sario unable to conceal his movements.

The ten-kilometer distance was covered in no time.

Mu Yuan still didn’t feel secure enough, so he ordered another ten-kilometer retreat, and then…

He manipulated the Scepter of Heavenly Authority, targeting the map revealed by the Heavenly Eye, and launched a nuclear-level Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon.

What he lacked least was such large-scale spells.

With the Heavenly Eye already activated, why risk soldiers’ lives when large-scale spells could be used to check for hidden dangers?

The roaring thunderflame dragon broke through the mist barrier, crashing directly into the Jackal Fortress. The next moment, dazzling radiance of thunder and fire soared into the sky.

Thunder flashed, tearing apart high walls, flesh, and the earth piece by piece;

Fire roared, spreading endless light and heat, destroying and swallowing everything in its path.

Twenty-seven kilometers away, Dolai stood on a small hill, standing on tiptoe to watch the rising thunderflame radiance in the distance, unable to resist clapping. “Wow, so spectacular.”

Sario wagged his dragon tail and said, “But wouldn’t it be the same if we just charged in? Mere jackals couldn’t possibly stop our Tianyuan Territory’s army. No need to waste a large-scale spell. With this Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon strike, basically no loot will remain.”You’re right, but our Tianyuan Territory operates under the Tianyuan Will, guided by the principle of a steady spirit.”

Sario’s thinking is far too unstable.He finally understood why Deadbone rarely rode Sario—riding an unstable mount was akin to placing oneself in an unstable environment.

Although using a Nine-Headed Roaring Thunderflame Dragon to attack a Gnoll fortress without a Legendary Realm guardian was indeed like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

His order to retreat twenty kilometers seemed somewhat foolish, of course. But since everyone present was his trusted inner circle, no one would raise any objections.

As Mu Yuan pondered this, suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, his mind grew dazed, and his spiritual projection abruptly dissipated.

When he reformed and projected his spiritual body once more, he saw a crimson radiance more violent and dazzling than the previous thunderflame brilliance shooting into the sky. A massive crimson wave erupted, sweeping across the surrounding area like a tidal surge.

Within a range of several kilometers, the land already devastated by the thunderflame shockwave was scoured once more by the crimson wave—this time, the destruction was even more thorough.

Within a dozen or so kilometers, not a single blade of grass, tree, or stone remained. Everything between heaven and earth was stained with crimson.

Even twenty or thirty kilometers away, crimson waves still surged forth, and an indissoluble corrosive power permeated the world.

Sario widened his eyes and instinctively shrank his head. Truly, the Lord was wise.

Mu Yuan also stared wide-eyed. What kind of technique was this?

Against such a massive crimson wave, perhaps Dolai could use Whale Swallow to dissipate a portion of it. Perhaps Dolai could even employ the Epic Treasure ‘Space Urn’ for defense in time. Among his troops, Bone Four and the other Undead Lords might summon the Undead Holy Mountain to offset some of the impact, but…

Casualties would be unavoidable.

Beyond its frenzied energy, this crimson wave contained an extremely terrifying corrosive force—the same kind of erosion experienced during the Crimson Mist disaster months ago, only a thousand, even ten thousand times more intense.

Once enveloped by the crimson wave or mist, even Fourth-Order Experts could exhibit signs of mutation within a short time, or even die or fall on the spot.

“The killing move of a Monster Overlord is truly terrifying. One must never let their guard down at any time,” Mu Yuan exclaimed in awe.

Having previously defeated the main force of an Overlord’s faction, he had grown somewhat complacent. He couldn’t help but feel grateful that he had secretly read through Deadbone’s compiled “The Spirit of Steadiness,” which had prevented any mishaps.

…

At the same time, in the Gnoll Fang Lair.

The Jackal Emperor paced back and forth, awaiting some news.

After a while,

“Report—!”

A high-ranking Gnoll hurried in.

Inside the hall, a certain Gnoll Legend took the letter, glanced at it, and revealed a pleased expression. He turned to the Jackal Emperor and reported:

“Your Majesty, our scouts over a hundred kilometers away have witnessed the crimson light shooting into the sky. Clearly, the humans failed to prevent the Blood Tide eruption. This time, that Tianyuan human is bound to suffer heavy losses—perhaps his entire army has been wiped out.”

The Jackal Emperor couldn’t suppress the corners of his mouth from curling upward. Forcing himself to remain calm, he said:

“Compose yourselves, compose yourselves. Given human capabilities, it’s difficult for us to annihilate them entirely. This killing move is also unlikely to heavily injure that top-tier Legend. At most, it’ll kill a few hundred of their elite troops. This isn’t yet cause for great celebration.”

“HAHAHAHAHA—”

He still couldn’t hold back his laughter, truly having thought of something delightful.

After all, this was the first major success they had achieved in their conflict with the humans.

“HAHAHAHAHA—”What a pity, the things atop the Black Colossus Mountain cannot be preserved.

…

“As expected, there’s nothing left in this Jackal Fang fortress. But as long as we haven’t suffered losses, we haven’t lost anything. Not losing anything essentially means we’ve gained.”

Mu Yuan felt no regret.

His harvest these past days had already been plentiful, and there were still many resource-rich lands waiting for them to develop outside.

After leveling this Jackal Fang fortress, their path to the Black Colossus Mountain was completely unobstructed.

The Black Colossus Mountain was incredibly high, so tall its peak couldn’t be measured. Looking up, one could only see the mountain body piercing through the clouds. Such a colossal peak resembled a Pillar of Heaven reaching into the clouds, nearly impossible to climb. The only way to reach the summit was through flight.

Mu Yuan left the vast majority of his forces at the mountain’s base. He climbed onto Sario’s back and, together with Rakshasa, Dolai, and Sophia, soared high into the sky.

Sario flapped his icy wings, thick black mist churning around him. Riding the black clouds, he ascended straight towards the peak.

He flew and flew.

For a very, very long time, passing through layer after layer of clouds, enduring the biting cold winds sharp as sabers in the high altitudes, and navigating through barrier-like layers of black mist surrounding the colossal mountain.

They finally reached the mountain peak.

Here…

There was actually mist too.

An extremely dense, impenetrable Crimson Mist.

The red mist hung like clouds, shrouding the black peak’s summit. From afar, it looked like a large red hat placed atop the black Pillar of Heaven.

“Filthy Crimson Mist!”

Mu Yuan had thought that some super Treasure Land or highly valuable Miracle Building existed atop this Black Colossus Mountain, which was why Jackal Fang had stationed heavy defenses at its base. He never expected it to be such an eerie place.

He frowned.

Such a Crimson Mist-filled land might be more valuable to Monster Overlords than so-called Treasure Lands or Miracle Buildings.

His intuition told him this place contained great ominousness that could likely lead to major disasters.

Sure enough, as Sario flew forward and they drew closer to the Crimson Mist-filled area, urgent prompts from the world echoed in their ears.

「Ding!」

「Prompt: Your Hero ‘Dolai’ has discovered a Filth Nexus under construction. Please eliminate it quickly, please eliminate it quickly, please eliminate it quickly.」

「Prompt:…」

「Prompt:…」

The world’s prompts seemed more urgent than usual.

Mu Yuan’s expression changed.

The Crimson Mist was so thick it was viscous. He couldn’t see what was inside the mist, but he had heard of the term ‘Filth Nexus’ before.

In the basic materials from the Development Department.

After all, he was a reserve Lord of the Development Department and had previously received some basic materials that Cold Moon City Lord had asked Liu Miumiu to deliver to him.

Though called basic, they were only basic within the Development Department. They contained much information that ordinary Lords and high-level professionals couldn’t access.

One such passage stated:

「The deepest parts of the Wilderness are the Land of Red Mist. There, monsters thrive, perpetually shrouded in impenetrable, dense Crimson Mist with no sunlight, similar to scenes during the Crimson Mist disaster months. However, even during disaster months, the Crimson Mist drifting through the Taixuan Alliance’s world is far less than one-tenth to one-fifth of that in the deepest regions.」

「The Land of Red Mist isn’t perpetually unchanging. We humans have developed some red mist areas into ordinary Wilderness where living beings can operate, yet some Wilderness areas have fallen to Crimson Mist erosion zones.」”The sign of the Wilderness’s fall lies in…”

The Filth Nexus!

Once the Crimson Mist shrouds the entire Great Domain, living beings will completely lose their space for survival, and the territory of Miracle Territory will also be eroded by the Crimson Mist. By that time, high-level monsters and legendary monsters will continuously surge from the deepest parts of the Wilderness, completely devouring the vitality of the entire Great Domain.

This is an extinction-level catastrophe.

In fact, Nature’s Garden and Boulder Mountain Ridge likely originated as refugees fleeing from some of the Red Mist Shrouds.

But…

“Why is there a Filth Nexus here?”

“Is Jackal Fang building a Filth Nexus? That doesn’t make sense.”

It wasn’t that Mu Yuan looked down on Jackal Fang, but rather, an entity of such caliber as the Filth Nexus was simply beyond Jackal Fang’s qualifications and capabilities to construct.

Jackal Fang must have backing behind them!

Mu Yuan thought of the several dragon monsters that appeared during the defense of Tianyuan City the day before yesterday.

He furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

Dolai waited for a while but couldn’t resist poking Mu Yuan, “What should we do?”

It pointed at the thick Crimson Mist in the distance, meaning to ask: charge or not.

“Charge!”

Regardless of the situation, he had to eliminate this Filth Nexus. Otherwise, his Tianyuan City would truly lose all living space.

He was very aware.

Once the Filth Nexus was completed, the Crimson Mist would surge in all directions, blocking out the sky and eroding the land. Not to mention his Tianyuan Territory, even Cold Moon Territory likely wouldn’t have the ability to survive in such an area.

This Filth Nexus had already chosen the path of death and absolutely could not be left alone!

However, this place was extremely sinister. Even Dolai felt some fear, and Sario wasn’t shouting to charge forward recklessly.

They needed to be cautious.

The location of Black Colossus Mountain was special, with natural barrier fields and spatial fields outside, preventing him from using the Reconnaissance Skyeye for observation.

The Night Apostle Sophia took the stage once again.

Black feathers fluttered around her, continuously shaping into created Black Crows. Among them, three crows were crafted with great effort, noticeably plumper than the others.

These plump crows didn’t show significant improvement in reconnaissance capabilities, but they contained more abundant energy and were more resistant to damage compared to ordinary crows.

This was Sophia’s newly developed ‘Black Crow · Sturdy Edition,’ slightly adjusted based on the previous situation.

Dozens of Black Crows plunged into the Crimson Mist.

Sophia let out a surprised “Huh?”

“What is it?” Mu Yuan looked over.

Sophia said, “My crows weren’t destroyed immediately. It seems there are no defenders inside.”

Mu Yuan asked, “No danger?”

Sophia replied, “No, it’s not that there’s no danger. There are indeed no monsters visible for now, but the ever-present Crimson Mist itself is dangerous. The Crimson Mist is eroding!”

Under the Crimson Mist, the feathers of the created Black Crows slowly began to turn from black to red.

A sinister, vivid red.

Faint eyes began to emerge on the feathers, their appearance gradually becoming terrifying.

Snap—

The Black Crow connection was severed.

Before the disconnection, Mu Yuan could see through other surviving crows that the previous No. 9 crow was still alive—or rather, it was “more alive.” It had once been a lifeless created Black Crow, but now it was a Black Crow monster.

It had been corrupted.

Under the erosion of the Crimson Mist, it had transformed into a monster.

The entire process took only twenty to thirty seconds.

Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap—One by one, the connections with the created Black Crows were severed, and even the three plump crows only managed to hold on for a little over twenty seconds.

Sophia said with lingering fear, “Not only were the Black Crows quickly eroded, but I even had an intuition that if the crows could last longer, this invisible corrosive force would spread from the crows to me.”

“This is terrifying, caw!”

But the good news was that there were indeed no monsters inside.

Mu Yuan dared not let this Filth Nexus continue to exist. Who knew when it would be fully constructed?

He turned to Dolai, “Do you have any Icy Purity Potion on you?”

The exceptional-grade Icy Purity Potion possessed the ability to resist the erosion of the Crimson Mist. During the disaster months, if strong individuals wanted to operate in the wild for extended periods, they had to use such potions to avoid being eroded, mutated, or corrupted.

Dolai reached into its belly, its hand sinking directly into a dark spatial opening. “Let me look.”

It had grown accustomed—prompted by Mu Yuan—to hoarding various items in its dimensional space.

The dimensional space was already quite large and continued to expand as Dolai’s Rank and grade improved. Now, the capacity of this spatial pouch it carried could rival a thousand or even ten thousand storage artifacts.

Keeping more items on hand ensured preparedness for any situation.

The only issue was that there were too many things, and Dolai seemed to stack them randomly without any organization. It rummaged in the spatial pouch for a long time before saying, “Found it, found it! There are still seven vials left!”

Seven vials would be enough for the three of them to use for two rounds.

“This arduous task is entrusted to you—Dolai, Rakshasa, and Sophia. Find the Filth Nexus under construction and purify it!”

“What about me?”

Sario widened his eyes.

Mu Yuan patted his dragon scales and said, “Your task is equally arduous. You are responsible for providing support to Dolai and the other two.”

Sario’s tail immediately perked up, the soulfire in his pupils blazing brightly. His Battle Intent burned fiercely, his resolve unwavering.

What an important mission this was.

And this responsibility rested entirely on him, a single Dragon.

To restore the glory of the Dragons, Sario would not shirk his duty.

In truth, Mu Yuan was trying to conserve the Icy Purity Potion. The production of this potion was low, and Dolai carried very little of it. Most importantly, Sario was not a Hero unit. Entering the Red Mist Zone would only waste a vial of the potion without contributing much, so it was better to keep him outside.

As for Mu Yuan himself, he would not enter either.

If his Incarnation were here, it could play a role, but he had only arrived with a spiritual projection. Not only did it lack purification abilities, but it would also certainly be unable to withstand the Crimson Mist’s erosion.

Dolai and the other two gulped down the Icy Purity Potion and flew toward the distant Red Mist Shroud.

However, Rakshasa could not fly. He could only transform into smoke and cloud to leap briefly, lacking true flight capability.

Dolai summoned a gust of wind, grabbing Rakshasa and Sophia, who had just spread her black crow wings. The three of them vanished into the thick Crimson Mist with a whoosh, as if not even a ripple had been stirred.

Mu Yuan watched silently, offering a prayer in his heart for the three of them.

…

“Thud~”

Dolai and the other two landed on the barren black soil.

All around them was an extremely dense Crimson Mist.

This mist could not be dispersed by wind, extinguished by fire, or even affected by Space Devour. It seemed to exist eternally as part of the world’s backdrop, drifting slowly along its predetermined path.

It only resembled mist in form but was not truly mist.”We must hurry,” Sophia said. “Although I just drank the Icy Purity Potion, it clearly can’t fully resist the erosion from the Crimson Mist here. The potion’s efficacy is rapidly depleting, so we can’t rely on past duration references.”

Under normal circumstances, even when venturing deep into the Foul Nest territory, the Icy Purity Potion could protect its user from Crimson Mist erosion for 4 to 6 hours.

Here, the Icy Purity Potion couldn’t even guarantee a second of protection, only managing to significantly reduce the erosion’s effects.

The three of them swiftly pressed forward.

In this Land of Red Mist, their vision was severely limited. Even with her Nightshade Eyes talent, Sophia could only see scenes a few hundred meters away.

Dolai deployed its Domain, but while the Domain couldn’t clarify their surroundings, it did provide some mitigation against the Crimson Mist’s erosion.

After just a few seconds of running, they encountered the recently corrupted Black Crows.

One after another, the Black Crows—or rather, Blood Crows—let out sharp shrieks. Some spread their wings, revealing hundreds of tiny eyes opening across their feathers.

Sophia frowned. “They’ve all become third-tier monsters!”

It was astonishing. Previously, aside from their scouting and stealth abilities, the created Black Crows were practically useless in combat, unable to even defeat professional-tier monsters in a direct fight. Yet, upon being corrupted, they had gained such a massive enhancement.

Naturally, third-tier monsters couldn’t hinder the trio’s progress.

Dolai unleashed countless arcs of lightning, annihilating all the monsters in its path. Maintaining a slightly faster pace than Sophia and Rakshasa, it charged at the forefront of their three-person team.

After eliminating this group of Blood Crows, they encountered no further obstacles.

They continued moving through the Crimson Mist.

Perhaps tens of seconds passed, or perhaps hundreds, but eventually, the outline of a massive shadow emerged from the red haze.

“Found it!”

Dolai advanced several dozen steps, and the giant shadow gradually became clearer.

It still resembled a tree.

A giant, leafless tree that appeared withered.

The tree’s roots weren’t buried in the earth but were anchored into a magnificent structure, enveloping the entire hall like a spiderweb.

“What is this?” Dolai muttered.

“This place… might have once housed a Miracle Building! A very high-grade, very special Miracle Building!”

Sophia studied it for a moment before speaking.

But now, the entire grand hall had lost its luster. The main structure of the palace was grayed and mottled, like an ancient building weathered and damaged. Brownish-red roots pierced through the walls, digging deep into them.

This Miracle Building was completely destroyed.

Hearing this, Dolai’s eyes widened. “Th-this means we’ve lost a fortune! Jackal Fang destroyed our property! This is utterly unreasonable—this grudge is too great!”

Sophia: “…” She didn’t know what to say. She had a feeling that upon seeing this, their Lord would let out the same sigh.

She sighed along and cursed Jackal Fang a few times.

Rakshasa glanced at the two of them and joined in with a few angry curses.

Despite their cursing, the trio didn’t dawdle. The prompt from the heavenly rules still echoed incessantly in their ears.

They quickly approached, positioning themselves around the Filth Nexus in a triangular formation, and pressed their palms against it.

A sinister, sticky sensation, as if something alien was squirming, transmitted from their palms. A terrifying corrupting force attempted to burrow out through their hands.

The next moment, purifying light erupted.

Three pure white lights blossomed from their palms, slowly spreading over the giant withered tree, gradually stripping away and purifying the filth-tainted power covering it.

This process was not fast.The power of purification originates from the laws of heaven and earth. Apart from maintaining continuous contact with the Filth Nexus, Dolai and the other two had no other requirements.

They could chat, fight, or even play cards.

However, the purification process was indeed too slow.

Back when they purified the Foul Nest, the speed was several times faster than it was now.

But during the purification of the Foul Nest, Dolai and the others faced fierce attacks from dozens to hundreds of Fourth Order BOSSes, whereas now, there were no enemies around.

“Could it be that even monsters can’t adapt to such a viscous Crimson Mist environment?”

Mu Yuan pondered to himself.

He remained vigilant of the surroundings and instructed Dolai and the other two that if a Monster Overlord attacked, they should abandon the purification and focus on killing the enemy or retreating.

He could summon heroes like Deadbone and Lu Liu and make more thorough preparations.

He could even call Shen Linglong, or even heroes from Nature’s Garden and Boulder Mountain Ridge. At most, the purification would be delayed by two or three days.

Time ticked away.

At the twentieth minute, Dolai, Rakshasa, and Sophia drank their second Icy Purity Potion.

Outside the Land of Red Mist, Mu Yuan gazed intently, his fists slightly clenched.

Finally, at 33 minutes and 54 seconds after the three entered the Land of Red Mist…

Buzz—

The entire Land of Red Mist trembled abruptly, and the thick, viscous Crimson Mist visibly thinned. Strands of red mist drifted outward, dissipating into the world.

At the same moment, a crisp and pleasant notification sound, entirely different from before, rang in Mu Yuan’s ears.

Ding!

“Notification: Your heroes ‘Dolai,’ ‘Rakshasa,’ and ‘Sophia’ have purified the Filth Nexus under construction and received a gift from heaven and earth.”

Vaguely, Mu Yuan seemed to see a purple divine light descending.

7.4K-word chapter! This slow-typing author is completely burned out! Please vote for me with your monthly tickets!

(End of Chapter)