The steps of a hundred moved as one, as all the Holy Army soldiers moved on foot.
Of course the usage of vehicles would have been preferred, but with the omnipresent darkness and rough terrain it simply proved impossible.
So they moved through the darkness with only their weapons by their sides.
No one spoke, not a single word was voiced in that giant crowd.
'I think it has only been three hours or so.'
Stacy thought, but she had no clock on hand and even if she did it would be impossible for her to read it.
Yes, time was one of the many things that was seemingly impossible to track by while withing the Void.
"STOP!"
A commanding voice came shouting down from the front.
It was the voice of Gabriel.
"There's a drop off here, we'll have to go around."
Gabriel relayed back to all those behind him.
'We really are just going around blindly, huh?'
Stacy along with all the others has been notified of how their expedition would go even before they left Primus, but seeing it in person was something else.
They were told that they'd be walking into the Void completely blindly, no map nothing.
Even getting out relied solely on the survival of a lone individual.
Gabriel.
Did you think they were gonna get out the way they came in? There is no way.
The reason the Void had no maps in the first place was because the terrain always moved around, changed, shifted.
Simply put it was not something one could easily navigate through.
The only thing that remained clear is that it kept going down, going deeper and deeper. That was the only indicator that they were making progress.
So the way they came out became quicker and safer.
Teleportation.
Each Eastern Expedition had its leader and also strongest member keep a Teleportation device on their person.
This device would allow them to open a temporary portal to Void Outpost.
So as the leader, Gabriel carried this device. He decided whether they stayed or went home.
Still there were problems. The device was lengthy to set up, so it was pretty much impossible to set up quickly.
And also... it was loud... like reaaallly loud. This meant that while they were getting ready to extract they were sure to be swarmed by all the monsters nearby.
So even escaping was dangerous, still it proved to be a better option than just walking out.
As they went around the large chasm some people began to feel tired, mostly from the group that spent the entirety of last day training.
The question was how they would rest... and the answer was simple.
They wouldn't. Most atleast.
The expedition still required resources like food and water, and only so many spacial type Users were available in the army as such while vehicles weren't an option small machine assisted carriages were still being drawn.
What did these carriages have? Food, water and a bit of space with a mattress on it.
So yeah some would rest on the carriages while others would just stay awake a bit longer.
Of course this wasn't really retainable so every once in a while they did stop to allow more of the group to rest, but atleast half of the group always had to stay awake.
Stacy looked around her group trying to see if they were all where they needed to be.
As she looked she could see that most of the group was still in their position keeping with the formation they agreed upon.
The only exception seemed to be the oldest of the group Richard who has seemingly gone to take this opportunity to rest.
'Can't really blame him.'
Stacy herself couldn't deny that while not a lot of time has passed this journey was indeed tiring.
...
It was at a moment when everyone of the member of Team Delta were present, none resting, that they came face to face with their first encounter.
"We've made contact!"
A voice came shouting from the left side of the formation directly opposite from where her team was.
That was when suddenly a strange voice came from the open void to their right.
"Graough!"
A truly strange sound, luckily not something that sounded too menacing.
"Team Delta has also made contact!"
Stacy shouted with all her might.
"...contact!"
It didn't take long for another team to say the same and soon almost all present teams were in the midst of some form of engagement.
As for Team Delta things were going well.
The two tanks were doing a good job of blocking all the incoming attacks while the mages and gunmen made short work of the enemies.
The swordmen only had to deal with the leftovers who somehow passed past the blockade.
The mosters they encountered this time were luckily weak and animalistic.
The only thing they had going for them were their strong claws and sheer number.
As the spells kept flying all over the battlefield and the monsters were slowly being taken care of the groups morale improved to the point where it reached heights never seen before.
And as the final monster was taken down shouts filled with joy resounded across the silent void.
"Yes!"
"We won!"
"Is anyone injured?"
All sorts of questions flew into the air.
In the end this first battle was a major success, as none were injured.
It was a perfect victory.
So the celebrations were warranted.
"Calm down everyone! We'll be repositioning before taking a well earned rest. Now everyone quiet down, unless you want our position revealed"
Upon Gabriel's words everyone in the group shut their mouths and focused on the task at hand.
So they walked once more deeper into the Void.
'We are just leaving the monsters here?'
Some in the army questioned, but none inquired further and followed Gabriel.
As some time passed with everyone walking Gabriel spoke up once more.
"Okay, we'll be setting up camp here for the next few hours. Take this chance to eat and rest, but keep the fact that we might have to fight at the back of your mind."
It didn't take long for a few makeshift beds and tents to be set up.
Looking upon her group Stacy asked who wanted to rest, from which Wilma, Charles, James and Gerald were quick to take this chance.
Seeing as there was still an empty spot left Stacy herself decided it was time for her to rest.
So she layed down and drifted to sleep.
...
Unlike what they worried about, no monsters came during their period of rest.
It has been roughly six hours since the makeshift camp was set up, and it was now that Gabriel decided it has been enough time and urged everyone to keep going.
As they move this time around the army was divided into two parts.
Those who've rested and those who haven't.
There was noticable difference in the way the two groups moved, with one moving like normal while the other struggled to keep their steps going.
This made no sense as from Stacy's estimates it should have only been a few hours since they entered the Void, but was she wrong?
Could the lack of light be effecting her ability to tell the time.
Without any way to solve this issue Stacy simply went on with her task of leading and continued walking.
...
Time kept on passing and since their first encounter things have been awfully quiet.
It was to the point where most of the group was starting to be paranoid seeing this as sign that something mich worse was nearby.
And while no one could confirm it, it was certainly a possibility.
But there was nothing they could do, so they just kept going.
And now the time for the groups second break arrived.
The camp was set up once again and this time the ones who went to sleep were the ones who were walking around sluggishly till now.
With her still feeling a bit rested Stacy simply stayed awake eating the jerky that was in her hand.
'It's not too bad.'
Then one of the members walked up to her whispering.
"Can I have a word Captain?"
The person was Jack, with nothing better to do Stacy quietly followed Jack before he spoke up once again.
"Captain, do you remember how long it's been since we left Void Outpost?"
Stacy thought for a moment before answering, though she was unsure herself.
"I think it's been around one day... maybe?"
"Do you really think that's the case?"
Jack asked back, even him unsure of what he was implying.
"Are you saying it's been longer?"
Stacy asked Jack somewhat sceptically.
"The opposite actually, I think we've only been here for three hours that's why I'm asking since I find it so strange how everyone is so sleepy and tired, while I feel in tip-top shape."
That was when Stacy realised something.
"Yeah right, you didn't sleep during the last stop either... are you sure you are fine?"
"Yeah I actually feel great like super energetic, there have been very few time I felt bet–"
*thud*
Jack suddenly hit the floor while speaking.
As the one closest to him Stacy quickly went to check up on him, only to her horror realise the worst has happened.
'He's dead.'