The pilgrims had no idea they had just come close to being wiped out.
Naturally, Raphael did not explain it to them. After lunch and a short rest, the pilgrimage procession continued onward.
Monsters of that caliber were rarely encountered. Or rather, they generally stayed within their own domains. The monster that had stolen Raphael's fate earlier had attacked the pilgrims on the instructions of the Mother Tree of Desire.
Over the next few days, they encountered monsters every day, but none exceeded Sequence 4. Raphael silently disposed of them up ahead.
By the ninth day, everyone was exhausted, but since they had already covered more than half the journey, their pace did not slow.
According to Raphael's plan, they would keep moving as long as no one showed signs of falling behind.
Once they left the Forsaken Land of the Gods and made camp on the beach outside, they could rest as much as they liked.
That day, after lunch-actually, only Raphael had a concept of lunch. To the others, it was simply "one of their meals."
After lunch, Raphael left the main group and climbed a nearby mountain to survey the road ahead.
Another mountainous region lay before them. Raphael checked the map and confirmed that they were heading in the right direction. Once they crossed these mountains, the rest of the road would be mostly flat.
Though this dark wasteland was fraught with danger, it had one advantage: as long as they were heading in the right direction, they only needed to keep going.
The mountains here were not steep. Climbing them along the gentler slopes would not be particularly difficult for the pilgrims.
After confirming their direction and roughly surveying the route ahead, Raphael returned to the procession.
Once everyone had rested, he led them onward,