Chapter 117 Bandits With Lucia's help, Aleshia quickly found the foot trail and moved through the bushes and grass that lay between it and them. When they arrived at the trail, Aleshia glanced toward the river to confirm where it flowed before walking along the path. As they strolled along the footpath, Aleshia and Lucia noticed the ground, although not heavily used, bore signs of having been used recently, with fresh hoofprints present along the path. As this discovery briefly occupied their minds, they continued following the path, carrying on their long and tedious journey, quickly forgetting the prints. During their walk, Lucia resumed her magical experimentation, with Aleshia gradually rejoining her as they returned to their previous guess and test routine. It wasn't until they heard the clash of metal that their dulled, autopilot minds sprang back into activity. "Hey, Aleshia, do you hear that noise?" Lucia asked, puzzled as she tried to recall what the noise was called. "Yeah, I hear it. I think it might be people battling," Aleshia replied, unsure. She quickened her pace and broke into a sprint while Lucia prepared her magic in case of a confrontation. The scene they stumbled upon involved three people fighting, one standing protectively in front of his horse while the other two attacked him. The man protecting his horse was clad in typical adventurer armor, which was scuffed and marred from his fall. Beside him lay a fallen horse, neighing in protest and struggling to rise. The horse must have thrown its rider after being startled by a sudden sneak attack from the group of bandits. Aleshia was concerned for the horse and soon learned the reason for the horse's inability to get back up. A few arrows were protruding from its body and legs. Despite this, the horse struggled to stand, shaking as it neighed defiantly. Giving the impression that it was valiantly trying to rise solely out of will and loyalty to the man confronting the bandits. Returning her gaze to the man and his fight, he looked to be in a defensive position. He skillfully dodged and defended himself against the two bandits wielding swords and daggers. As Aleshia was admiring his skills, something caught her eye. There were two more bandits concealed in the brush: one, Aleshia suspected, was the one who had shot arrows at the horse, while she had no idea what the other one specialized in. Aleshia decided to wait until the man was on the verge of defeat or seriously injured; she didn't want to be mistaken for one of the bandits or find herself overwhelmed. However, she still prepared her spells in case the situation escalated.