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As the Black Wind Gang members officially stormed into Wolf Gorge, the first battle quickly ensued.

What's unusual is that only a few Black Wind Gang squads were at the forefront, with most of them trailing far behind.

Not only did they not participate in the battle directly, but in the pitch black of night, they were virtually undetectable unless one looked closely.

For this reason, the battle was not decisive or swift at all; instead, it was very drawn out and messy.

This bandit gang, residing on the edge of Wild Wolf Gorge, was the first to clash with the Black Wind Gang's squad, and consisted of more than thirty people.

The Black Wind Gang's sudden attack only caused a few deaths and injuries before they were fully prepared.

This not only allowed them to regroup during the battle, but also created a considerable stir, alerting other bandit groups in the vicinity.

After suffering several more casualties, this bandit gang, which had directly confronted the Black Wind Gang, believed they had tested the Black Wind Gang's strength.

The sudden appearance of several Black Wind Gang squads, while not overwhelmingly powerful compared to them, would still severely damage them in a direct confrontation, potentially even causing the gang to disband completely.

Under such circumstances, although they were annoyed that the Black Wind Gang had suddenly appeared and started killing people without asking any questions, they did not risk the collapse of their entire team by fighting this unknown force head-on.

On the other hand, they were relatively relaxed because they subconsciously felt that such a suddenly rampaging wildfire would inevitably be extinguished by the powerful forces of thousands in Wolf Gorge.

They had no intention of sacrificing the future of their small gang to save the entire Wild Wolf Gorge from disaster.

Even if they manage to accomplish something after paying a huge price, do you really expect anyone to give them a reward of even half a penny?

If we didn't seize the opportunity to swallow them whole, it would be an insult to the overall moral bottom line of the bandit group.

Therefore, they retreated into the depths of Wild Wolf Gorge without hesitation.

Many of the other bandit gangs in the distance, who had been alerted, were still unaware of what had happened, so they followed suit and retreated deeper into Wild Wolf Gorge, afraid of falling behind.

However, in this process, there are always individuals and groups among the various bandit gangs who make other choices.

Some, however, refuse to believe in superstition and insist on going against the tide, using their own eyes to find out exactly what happened.

After hitting a wall and suffering a lot of bruises, some of them turned into corpses and lay on the ground, while others, still in shock, hurried back and joined the crowd retreating deeper into Wild Wolf Gorge.

Some scattered to the left and right, wanting to choose a path different from the other groups.

Some were like headless flies, running around aimlessly.

The first group of bandits who clashed with the Black Wind Gang initially had a relatively relaxed attitude, but as they ventured deeper into the area, their mood became increasingly somber.

The number of people walking around them was increasing rapidly, but the shadow hanging over their hearts, which started as a small clump, was growing thicker and thicker.

The sounds of battle, neither too close nor too far behind them, never ceased or receded.

Not only in the distance behind them, but also in the distance to the left and right, came the intermittent sounds of battle.

All I could see and hear was chaos.

Chaos spread like a plague.

Just how strong is the opponent?
How many people are there exactly?

They realized that something was wrong; it was completely different from what they had initially expected.

But it is absolutely impossible to get them to stop and turn around to confront the source of the shadow in their hearts.

Besides speeding up their run into the depths of Wild Wolf Gorge, they kept their mouths shut, communicating discreetly with their companions only through their eyes, not sharing the strange clues they had discovered with the other bandits.

If you raise your perspective, you can have a panoramic view of the entire Wild Wolf Gorge.

You'll find that this chaos isn't confined to a particular area, but rather evenly distributed around the perimeter of Wild Wolf Gorge.

The Black Wind Gang, which had already surrounded Wolf Gorge from all directions, did not use its full strength, like a lion hunting a rabbit, at the beginning.

On the contrary, on the front lines where they were in direct contact with other bandits, the Black Wind Gang always controlled the intensity of their own power output.

It is neither too weak nor too strong.

They needed to put pressure on those bandits who dared to confront them head-on, but they also didn't want to create an overwhelming sense of impending doom for them.

Although they killed quite a few bandits along the way in this way.

But killing is not the goal, but merely a means.

The Black Wind Gang used this method of slowly boiling a frog to drive the sand bandits scattered throughout Wild Wolf Gorge toward the central area, starting from the periphery.

If that were all, it wouldn't be easy to get thousands of bandits to "spontaneously" converge on the central area like sheep.

However, two other forces were secretly at work, contributing to this situation.

First, long before the Black Wind Gang launched its operation from the periphery, Gong Mu, the third leader of Wild Wolf Village, and the Black Wind Gang members he led into the central area of ​​Wild Wolf Gorge.

Taking advantage of the authority that Wild Wolf Village had established here over the years, they gathered those large and powerful bandit gangs in the central area ahead of time.

As for the reasons, they are easy to find.

"We received advance notice that a large group of bandits have gone mad and intend to plunder Wild Wolf Gorge. We have gathered you all here to discuss how to deal with them."

That's it.

There's no need to rack your brains to come up with other reasons.

Even if some bandit gangs are inherently suspicious, once the Black Wind Gang's operation officially begins, the chaos quickly spreads from the edge of Wild Wolf Gorge to the central area, which is enough to verify the authenticity of the information provided by Wild Wolf Gorge.

At this point, they would not go against the tide and single-handedly confront the attacking bandits.

They only gathered more closely around Gong Mu and the others, watching the bandit group rushing in from the outer area with somewhat mocking eyes.

By the time they gradually realized something was amiss, the Black Wind Gang had already successfully completed what seemed like a simple, but in reality, most difficult, first step—

They gathered together the bandits scattered throughout Wild Wolf Gorge.

In addition, another force is secretly guiding things.

These are the Night Watch spies awakened by the Iron Wolves and scattered among various bandit gangs.

They don't know the cause and effect, nor do they need to do anything complicated.

All they need to do is try to lead the people around them towards the center.

Given the nature of the bandits, if someone is ahead of them, their first action is not to stop and think carefully, but to speed up and overtake the other person.

It has an inside and an outside, a visible and a hidden.

Thus, under the combined force of these multiple forces, the bandit groups scattered throughout Wild Wolf Gorge, like a flock of sheep being driven, quickly gathered in the central area of ​​Wild Wolf Gorge.

Counterintuitively, after this trend took hold, the number of bandits who died along the way at the hands of the Black Wind Gang was no small amount.

Geng Xuan, who was watching all of this, saw the endless stream of red names surging towards his brow and even felt that even a head-on battle would be difficult.

In such a short time, the Black Wind Gang might not achieve more results than they have now.

Many of the bandits who died were not killed in direct combat.

Instead, they fell behind for various reasons and ended up at the very back of the "retreating" group.

Ultimately, with his back to the Black Wind Gang, he was wounded in the back and was easily killed by the relentlessly pursuing Black Wind Gang squads.

As the crowd around them grew larger and larger, they realized that there were already too many people behind them to retreat. Only then did they realize that the people around them were all bandits who had gathered from all over Wild Wolf Gorge.

Not only in front of them, but also on their left and right sides, there was a group of bandits retreating from behind them.

The flickering firelight illuminated pairs of wary, scrutinizing eyes filled with apprehension and unease.

They finally realized something was wrong, only to find they had nowhere to go.

Only then did the Black Wind Gang truly reveal its full form.

They were like a deadly black wind blowing in the dark night, seemingly invisible and intangible, with only the constant pressure they exerted being felt.

When it finally revealed its true form, the bandits were already bound together like chains by this "black wind" that had transformed from the formless to the tangible.

In the darkness further away, they could occasionally hear the unique howling of the sand wolves.

Every now and then, screams, some soft and some loud, could be heard.

That was the Black Wind Gang's cleanup squad. Led by sand wolves, they precisely targeted those who were seriously injured but not dead, as well as the sand bandits who were trying to get away with feigning death. They quickly and systematically eliminated them.

Perhaps they were too weak, or too unlucky, or too distracted...

Regardless of the reason, all the bandits who failed to arrive within the deadline would be eliminated by the Black Wind Gang.

The bandits gathered in the central area could only be heard, not seen, which further fueled their imaginations.

The psychological pressure was immense.

The bandits looked around in panic, hoping that other bandits would test the Black Wind Gang's true "toughness" with their own lives.

But what they saw were pairs of eyes that shared the same thoughts.

Everyone wants others to die, and through these deaths, they can glean more information for themselves.

As a result, no one was willing to go and die for a long time.

Ultimately, this "expectation" was passed down through layers of intermediaries to Gong Mu, who was located at the very heart of these bandits.

The pairs of eyes around him, focused on him, seemed to say, "Wild Wolf Gorge has always been under the control of your Wild Wolf Village. Now it's your turn to speak. Tell me, what exactly do you want to do?"

Amidst those expectant eyes, Gong Mu sighed and said, "In that case, let's surrender!"

"???" The high-ranking members of the bandit gangs who had been summoned by him and were the closest to him all looked at him with shocked eyes.

These bandit groups that received special "attention" did not have combat power at the peak of the Marrow Refinement stage, but they were not lacking in strongmen at the late stage of the Marrow Refinement stage.

At this moment, they gathered together, and there were as many as six people with the power of the late stage of Marrow Refinement.

The way they looked at Gong Mu changed because of this.

At that moment, more information came in from the outermost perimeter.

Although the bandit groups do not have fixed areas of activity, each bandit gang always has a "comfort zone" and it is impossible for them to wander aimlessly in the Xuanyou and You states.

Many of the bandits gathered in Wild Wolf Gorge now often operate around the area. They are not entirely unfamiliar with the bandits of Wild Wolf Village, though they may not know them all.

In particular, there were several leaders, as well as other combatants at the Marrow Refining level, and other active members of the Wild Wolf Stronghold who frequently appeared in Wild Wolf Gorge.

During this brief but tense standoff, more and more members of the Black Wind Gang from Wild Wolf Stronghold were recognized.

When the news reached Gong Mu's surroundings, the gazes directed at him, led by the six late-stage Marrow Refinement cultivators, all changed.

The claim that a mysterious foreign enemy is coming to raid Wild Wolf Gorge is nothing but a case of the thief crying "stop thief!"

One of them even questioned him directly in a hateful voice: "It was your Wild Wolf Stronghold that started this, wasn't it?"

The gazes fixed on Gong Mu seemed to want to devour him alive.

In this atmosphere, Gong Mu also felt the pressure personally.

But now, the fact that he, the third-in-command, was chosen by Song Mingzhu to take on such an important task reveals his extraordinary qualities.

Despite the immense pressure he felt, he remained outwardly calm.

He simply sighed:

"Don't misunderstand, we just surrendered earlier than you."

"???"

His answer startled the bandits, causing them to tense up suddenly.

They believed that as the third-in-command of Wild Wolf Stronghold, he would never joke about such a thing.

If he dares to say this in public, then it's basically true.

But precisely because it was true, it gave those around him an even more chilling feeling.

"The Wild Wolf Stronghold has... surrendered?"

"How...how is this possible!"

"Is your chieftain not in the village, and someone took advantage of the situation to break in?"

"Wild Wolf Stronghold is so close to Wild Wolf Gorge, how come we haven't heard a thing? What kind of force could have done this?!"

Faced with a barrage of questions, Gong Mu didn't answer them one by one. He simply glanced at the crowd around him with a knowing look and asked in return:
"What force could do that?"

Do I really need to answer this question?

Do you think that, within the territory of Xuanzhou, anyone other than that person could have accomplished something so quietly and without anyone noticing?

This ambiguous answer, which seemed like a riddle, made everyone's hearts sink.

Almost simultaneously, the same answer popped into the minds of all the bandits.

Dong Guan.

I wouldn't even consider anyone else.

When this thought arose in their minds, their already weak resistance was instantly shattered.

"Why...why would he go to such lengths to scheme against us?"

"Could it be that some fool has messed with the wrong person, offended his taboo, and caused him to take his anger out on all of us?"

"..."

The crowd no longer doubted the identity of the "mysterious foreign enemies" in front of them, but instead began to speculate on Dong Guan's motives for doing so.

Gong Mu gently shook his head, dismissing their wild and unfounded speculations.

"You're all wrong. He just thinks we're in his way and is worried that we'll ruin his plans."

"???"

The bandits looked at him with puzzled and aggrieved eyes.

Some even said directly, "Bad things? How dare we ruin his plans!"

“Not now, but in the future,” Gong Mu said.

That's just unreasonable!

What's the difference between this and being killed for stepping into a house with your left leg?
Aren't they all just trying to find ways to kill us?
This completely illogical reason, on the contrary, aroused the ruthlessness deep within many of the bandits.

He gritted his teeth and thought fiercely, "Dong Guanzhen is so unreasonable, we must kill them all. We'll risk our lives to tear a few pieces off him!"
Ultimately, some of the bandits were more rational, believing that Dong Guan wouldn't recklessly wage war for such an absurd reason. "What exactly happened?" a bandit at the late stage of Marrow Refinement asked in a deep voice.

Gong Mu sighed and said, "Those who are more perceptive may have already noticed some clues from his recent actions."

The matter is actually quite simple: he is about to launch a military campaign against another state, at which time the two states will inevitably be depleted of troops.

He worried that we might sabotage him from behind and ruin his foundation in the Xuan You and Er Zhou states, so he decided to take action first and eliminate these potential threats.

Dong Guan had been secretly mobilizing troops for quite some time.

Many clues have already emerged in the two states of Xuanyou, and many bandits have seen some of them to varying degrees.

They hadn't thought about it deeply before, but now that Gong Mu had pointed it out, they all felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Dong Guan's actions regarding Dicui Beach and other key points along the trade routes.

Wild Wolf Village surrendered so readily and decisively by kneeling down.

And all of this, which seems to have happened suddenly right now.

Everything now has a reasonable explanation.

That's it!

So, at this juncture, should we surrender?
Once the underlying reasons are understood, this is no longer even a problem.

if not?
Are we really going to be so stubborn as to risk our lives to test the edge of Dong Guan's blade, which he has meticulously honed over decades?
Just look around Wild Wolf Village; the examples are right there.

Instead of unleashing the full force of a lion hunting a rabbit and slaughtering everyone before they could react, they focused on drawing everyone together.

This shows that they were willing to give them a way out, and that they did not intend to kill them.

At this point, if you still think about fighting to the death with the other party, then you are being incredibly tactless and unwise.

At that moment, it was estimated that Gong Mu had roughly completed the preliminary preparations.

After a brief standoff, Song Mingzhu and Tie Lang no longer remained hidden behind the scenes and appeared under the tense gazes of the bandits opposite them.

Song Mingzhu, the chieftain of Wild Wolf Stronghold and the strongest figure in the surrounding bandit circle, personally appeared and tried to persuade Song to surrender.

Iron Wolf was also a celebrity in the bandit circle, and under the gaze of thousands of eyes, he revealed his identity as the deputy director of the Dark Night Division.

It was like a Category 12 hurricane, shaking the morale of the bandits.

Before the bandits could calm down, he called out the names of the twelve Dark Night spies who were cooperating with him, summoning them from the crowd.

Previously, these spies had all heard of Iron Wolf, but given their rank, they did not know his true identity.

But at this moment, his true identity was exposed, and under the watchful eyes of his companions who were filled with suspicion, wanting to hate but daring not to, as if they were looking at a venomous snake.

They had no other choice but to lower their heads, walk out of the crowd, and silently gather behind Iron Wolf.

The actions of Song Mingzhu and Tielang shattered the already dwindling and wavering will of the bandits.

"Bang!"

One man threw his weapon far away, letting it fall to the ground. He raised his hands above his head, slowly walked out of the crowd, and shouted, "I surrender!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"I surrender!"

"I surrender!"

"..."

The first bandit's action was like a starting gun, or a demonstration of leadership. More and more bandits threw down their weapons, shouted their surrender, and walked out of the crowd.

To avoid chaos, Song Mingzhu did not allow them to disrupt the Black Wind Gang's established order.

Instead, they were placed in a separate area nearby.

The morale of the more than three thousand bandits collapsed together.

However, the surrender began with the outermost bandits who were directly facing Song Mingzhu and other Black Wind Legion soldiers.

As more and more bandits threw down their weapons, gave up resistance, and walked to the other side with their hands behind their heads, they approached from the outside in, layer by layer, like peeling an onion.

Before long, more than half of the bandits had surrendered.

Surrounded at the very center, Gong Mu then looked at the group of distraught, late-stage Marrow Refinement level bandit experts around him and said:
What are you still hesitating about?
...Or do you really want to clash with Dong Guan?
...Are you worried about being harmed?

Look at our chief, and then look at me. What do you have to worry about?

The sentence he uttered at the right moment had an effect no less powerful than a "heart-shaking roar".

These words shattered the last vestiges of "restraint" in the hearts of the group of late-stage Marrow Refinement Sand Bandits.

"Bang... I surrender."

"Bang... I surrender."

"..."

As soon as they spoke, the bandits who had always followed their lead stopped resisting and surrendered one after another.

Soon, the remaining bandits all surrendered.

Seeing this, Song Mingzhu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He couldn't help but glance at Iron Wolf, and felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of the guy's "insidious" nature.

The plan in front of us was, of course, proposed by Iron Wolf.

……

For the surrendered bandits, it seemed that the night was over the moment they laid down their weapons.

The next step is simply a matter of how Dong Guan will deal with them.

Although this is closely related to each of them, all they can do is wait for the outcome.

Yes, the bandits from different bandit gangs and with different levels of cultivation were separated and settled...

This is not surprising; it makes perfect sense.

With his strength suppressed, he was unable to exert any force to resist, which... is quite reasonable.

Someone brought out some creepy-looking small tools and laid them out in front of them, causing the bandits' hearts, which had just calmed down, to jump again.

Could it be that... after they have already surrendered, Dong Guan intends to continue torturing them?
The next moment, the person who came in with the "small tools" explained his purpose.

They invited me to abandon darkness and embrace the light, to become like-minded partners with them?

Isn't this... unnecessary?

Haven't I already surrendered?

I'm in! I'm in! It's my greatest honor to serve Mr. Dong!

They thought this answer showed enough sincerity, but the next moment, something happened that made the bandits' brains go blank.

No... it's not about joining Dong Guan's forces, it's about me joining the Black... Black Wind Gang, what the hell is this?

What the hell is the Black Wind Gang?!
Damn it, I got scammed!
Only then did the bandits belatedly realize what was happening.

……

Hearing the distant wails and howls, Geng Xuan, who had been watching the whole scene, appeared in front of Song Mingzhu and Tie Lang and praised them, "You two did a good job."

Upon seeing him appear, both men secretly breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to greet him, saying, "Commander."

Geng Xuan nodded slightly, then asked:
"That's pretty cunning. How did you two come up with the idea of ​​using this trick?"

Song Mingzhu glanced at Tie Lang beside him and said, "This subordinate dares not take credit; it was all Tie Lang's idea."

Tie Lang paused slightly, then said without changing his expression, "I dare not take credit for this. This idea was only conceived after being inspired by Song Mingzhu."

"Alright, alright, I'm not blaming you, I'm just a little curious." Geng Xuan quickly interrupted the two of them as they tried to shift the blame.

Then, after the two explained, he understood their thoughts.

Even before joining the Black Wind Gang, Song Mingzhu had already realized that the only reason he was going to bother with the Black Wind Gang was to target Dong Guan.

After joining the Black Wind Gang, he witnessed even more of Geng Xuan's amazing skills.

They can "haphazardly" refine large quantities of medicinal herbs into high-quality cultivation resources, turning lead into gold.

This is enough to shake one's spirit.

Compared to that, directly helping people improve their cultivation level and skill realm is an almost miraculous ability.

This not only shook people's hearts, but also further solidified Song Mingzhu's conjecture.

At the same time, Song Mingzhu, who was originally very pessimistic about the final outcome, also saw real hope because of this.

Only at that moment did the Black Wind Gang truly possess the potential to completely overthrow Dong Guan in his eyes!
Therefore, when Geng Xuan entrusted them with the crucial task of taking over Wild Wolf Gorge at the last moment and withdrew from the matter himself, Song Mingzhu did not simply carry out orders, but treated the matter with unprecedented seriousness and focus.

He immediately established two principles for this action.

The Black Wind Clan should try to minimize casualties.

The bandits in Wild Wolf Gorge also tried to minimize casualties and capture as many alive as possible.

This can actually be summarized into one principle: regardless of whether it is friend or foe, the operation should be completed with the fewest possible casualties.

After figuring this out, and looking back at the Black Wind Gang's previous actions against Wild Wolf Village, Song Mingzhu belatedly realized that this was exactly the principle that the Black Wind Gang had already implemented in their previous actions.

Song Mingzhu immediately shared his insights with Tie Lang and pressured him to come up with a reasonable strategy.

Upon hearing his unreasonable demand, Tie Lang immediately protested, "Your Wild Wolf Village knows Wild Wolf Gorge best, and if you don't even have it, what more reasonable strategy can I come up with?"

Song Mingzhu immediately "reminded" him to make the best use of his deputy director of the Dark Night Division and the spies planted among the bandits.

He also "reminded" Iron Wolf that, given the Black Wind Gang's rapid growth, it would soon attract Dong Guan's attention.

At that time, regardless of whether he actively exposes himself, once the Black Wind Gang and Dong Guan's forces clash head-on, Dong Guan will know that he has "changed his color".

Rather than doing that, it would be better to take advantage of this brief gap and actively squeeze out the remaining value of his identity.

To help the Black Wind Gang grow faster and stronger.

Only in this way can it be the most advantageous and wisest course of action for those who have already been forcibly dragged onto the Black Wind Gang's pirate ship.

—Until this moment, Song Mingzhu was unaware of Dong Guan's true intentions toward the bandit group.

He subconsciously felt that Iron Wolf's true identity, along with the Dark Night Squad's spies planted in various bandit groups, would make it easier for the Black Wind Gang to take over Wild Wolf Gorge.

Encouraged, or rather "forced," by Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang finally understood and decided to go all out.

That's how the final plan came to be.

In a sense, this was actually a "hijacking," a clever "double-crossing."

Before Dong Guan's Xuanyou Iron Cavalry could leave the battlefield, they harvested the fruits he had cultivated.

Moreover, because the harvest was done too early, the number of bandits gathered in Wild Wolf Gorge was far from its peak.

Furthermore, because the entire Wild Wolf Village had switched sides, they were caught in a pincer movement.

The bandit group was weaker and had fewer options.

This gave the imposter Black Wind Gang, who had "hijacked" the deal, a greater advantage than the real gang.

This not only caused the bandit group to give up their desperate resistance, but also forced them to lay down their weapons and surrender completely.

Moreover, the efficiency is surprisingly high.

From start to finish, it only lasted about three to four hours in total.

This counts from the moment the Black Wind Gang completed the encirclement of Wild Wolf Gorge, and Gong Mu led his men to officially enter Wild Wolf Gorge.

If we start planning from the very first battle, the timeframe is even shorter.

It will take a little over two hours, or a little over an hour.

Compared to the high efficiency and the huge gains of this operation, Geng Xuan was more satisfied that the Black Wind Gang's top leaders, led by Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, and Cao Ao, had demonstrated through their actions, whether willingly or not, that they were now firmly bound to the Black Wind Gang.

Geng Xuan believed that as long as this trend continued, it wouldn't be long before Song Mingzhu, Tie Lang, Cao Ao, and others would be able to lead the entire Black Wind Gang to carry out their will even without his constant monitoring.

This has nothing to do with loyalty.

Perhaps it's because of a desire for more good fortune and blessings.

It may be a burning greed for an increasingly bright future.

It may be a mutual constraint that creates entanglement between each other.

...Regardless of which method it is, the effect will be the same for Geng Xuan.

……

Just as Geng Xuan was talking with Song Mingzhu and Tie Lang, and waiting for the more than 3,000 surrendered bandits to be "persuaded to return to their hearts",

Cao Ao returned after leading several squadrons and dozens of sand wolves to thoroughly search the rest of the Wild Wolf Gorge and complete the cleanup.

"Commander," Cao Ao greeted Geng Xuan respectfully as he approached him.

"Is everything cleaned up?"

"Uh... we only had time to clear up the situation on the battlefield, and we haven't had time to carefully count the rest of the spoils yet."

Compared to commercial hubs like Dicui Beach, Wild Wolf Gorge is indeed very "barren," but if you were to search it thoroughly, you would find a considerable amount of resources and wealth within.

And because they are scattered in various places, it would take a lot of time to count them all.

Geng Xuan said, "Let's start by telling you what you found out."

"Yes."

Cao Ao responded with a sound of agreement before saying:

"It seemed easy for us to move nearly four thousand bandits to one place, but to ensure that not a single one escaped, we still exerted all our strength and paid a considerable price." (End of Chapter)