With the shadow clone scouting ahead, the risk of Moses traveling at night was reduced.
By the time the faint light of dawn appeared on the horizon, Moses finally stopped.
He couldn't determine exactly how far he had traveled, but he estimated it was at least a thousand kilometers.
However, looking around in the dim morning light, all he could see was the same unchanging, undulating black hilly terrain.
Without any landmark reference points along the way, continuing like this would only make the journey feel endlessly long and anxiety-inducing.
"Sigh…"
Moses let out a tired sigh, then controlled the shadow to form a passage and attached it to the ground.
Rat Jewel, who is perched on Moses's shoulder, yawned slightly and then jumped into the Shadow World's passage to call the others out.
A moment later.
The group emerged from the Shadow World one by one, and looked at the unchanging environment around them without much reaction.
After all, before arriving in this black hilly terrain, they had spent nearly a week traversing the equally monotonous white land.
"Moses, how far did we travel last night?"
Kanzai asked curiously while keeping alert in the surroundings as usual.
Moses lay down on the ground without hesitation, feeling the soft texture beneath him, and casually replied: "At least 2,500 kilometers."
"Oh."
Kanzai nodded.
At least 2,500 kilometers… even by airship, it would take a full day and night to cover that distance. But on the Dark Continent, it was just a drop in the ocean.
Menchi brought out some supplies from the Shadow World and started preparing breakfast for the group.
Moses, lying on the ground, fell asleep peacefully under Cookie's massage.
By the time Menchi finished preparing breakfast, Moses woke up and was fully refreshed again.
Soon, everyone finished their breakfast and set off again.
No one knew how long it would take to cross this black hilly terrain. All they could do was ensure they maintained their travel efficiency at all times.
The team continued like this day after day for five days.
But the surroundings remained unchanged...
"Ugh, I finally understand why the ancient humans went through so much trouble to create those Pipelines."
Around noon, Pyon raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, gazing at the seemingly endless black horizon ahead, letting out a heavy sigh.
First the white land, and now these black hills.
It was too much for the mind...
Not to mention those unlucky souls who were suddenly transported here via the Ancient Pipeline. Even them, if they had been sent here unprepared, would likely have been left crying to the gods for survival supplies, eventually starving or dying of thirst here.
Just imagining it made Pyon's scalp tingle.
'I really want to play with my phone.'
She lowered her hand and thought dejectedly in her heart.
However, in order to save her future father-in-law, she mentally waved her tiny fists and cheered herself up.
The team stopped for a brief rest.
Moses didn't need to rest this time, so he joined the others in keeping watch.
Shizuku was responsible for the western area, and Rat Jewel needed to recharge for a while, so it went to find Shizuku.
The two wandered around for a while, then set their sights on a small, raised hill.
"That spot looks good."
Shizuku looked up at the hill.
"Chu chu!"
Rat Jewel cried out.
"You think so too, little Rat."
"Chu, chu, chu!"
"Got it, I'll recharge you once we get up there."
"Chuu!"
"Then let's go over there."
After a brief, seamless exchange, Shizuku led the way and quickly climbed the small hill.
Rat Jewel followed closely behind, and once they reached the top, it immediately clung to Shizuku's thigh.
This was its way of recharging.
Shizuku first turned to confirm the location of her teammates, and then mobilized her Aura to concentrate on her thigh to help Rat Jewel charge.
After doing this, she looked at her surroundings again.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Shizuku noticed a faint white crack on the black ground a few meters away, about two meters long.
If it weren't for the contrast with the black terrain, such a thin, long white crack would have been hard to spot.
"After traveling for so many days, we finally see a different color."
Shizuku looked at the thin crack. Despite her curiosity, she didn't approach it recklessly. Instead, she decisively retreated down the hill, immediately distancing herself from the white crack that stood out against the black hills.
Her sudden movement interrupted Rat Jewel's recharging.
"Chu?"
Rat Jewel followed behind Shizuku, making a confused sound.
Shizuku looked down at it and said softly, "Be good, I'll recharge you later."
"Chuchu."
Rat Jewel nodded obediently.
Seeing this, Shizuku smiled. Then, she went to report the white crack she had found to Moses.
"A crack…?"
Moses looked at the small hill Shizuku had pointed out.
"Let's ignore it. We'll set off after lunch."
Following the principle of less trouble is better than more, and considering that the white crack would not affect their travel path, Moses had no intention of investigating it.
In an environment like the Dark Continent, excessive curiosity was not a good thing.
So far, they had only traversed the white land and the black hills beneath their feet.
Both are harsh environments that are not suitable for the survival of animals and plants, so the 'risks' they encountered along the way were minimal.
But Moses knew...
As soon as they encountered even a single forest or grassland on their journey, it would mean the 'danger level' would skyrocket.
Right now, everything was just the beginning.
Hearing Moses's words, Shizuku could only suppress her curiosity.
Rumble-
At that moment, a series of dense, muffled sounds came from the distance.
The sudden noise made everyone present immediately enter a state of combat readiness. At the same time, they all looked for high places nearby and then looked in the direction where the sound came from.
"Huh!?"
Everyone stared intently and saw that at the end of the undulating terrain, there was a red line across the entire horizon within their field of vision.
"What is that…?!"
Kanzai's astonished voice reached everyone's ears.
But no one responded, and their eyes were still fixed on the red line in the distance.
In just a few seconds, the thin red line at the end of the terrain thickened at a speed visible to the naked eye, then appeared before them like a tidal wave.
It was-
A flood of countless unknown creatures, rushing toward them at an incredible speed.
"!!!"
As the distance closed, everyone saw the true form of the red flood and felt a sudden chill in their spine.
During the nearly two weeks of travel, the only real creature they saw along the way was the giant Night Watcher.
They had already gotten used to the 'biologically barren' nature of this land, but they didn't expect that there would be a flood of creatures so numerous that it would span the entire horizon in their sight.
Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Or even millions?
There was no time to ponder this question...
Moses's pupils contracted, and he was about to combine with Rat Jewel's Nen Ability to create a safer shelter underground.
But before he could act, another anomaly occurred.
Boom!
The ground beneath them, which felt soft to the touch, began to shake violently.
'Huh? An earthquake?!'
Moses's heart skipped a beat.
It was truly a case of 'when it rains, it pours'.