Skaði allowed Sturla to have his way and hung back, she was not surprised by his actions because she understood his power.
Sturla could easily overpower her if he wished for it, she was nowhere near him despite their similar rank in the clan.
Sighvatur did not show favoritism and treated them with the same respect but Sturla was a genius that could adapt to battle styles while in battles.
He has never been injured with the same attack twice, which was no laughing matter considering his body muscles tend to react to it at a subconscious level.
Skaði was soon drawn out of her thought process as she saw people approaching from a distance.
She initially thought it was Sturla returning but this was highly unlikely considering the kind of person that he was.
"Get ready men, I think we are about to have our hands full…" Skaði blurted out and her men raised their weapons and shields.
Kolbeinn stepped forward but he was not alone, he was with Gudrun, Nora, Noa, and the Mad Hound.
This was more than enough firepower to make up for their deficiency in numbers.
The Mad Hound was a crazed warrior but what was surprising was why this woman was here when Sturla was fighting with Gissur and co.
Were they underestimating them?
No, that could not be it, there was no way that was the case from what he had seen so did they see through Finn's deception?
Regardless, they acted on Gō's information and Kolbeinn, who had the intention of circling them but he was surprised when he saw Skaði.
"What is going on, Father?" Gudrun asked but Kolbeinn remained silent. Kolbeinn was strong but he knew that this woman was equally as strong.
Unlike their clan, the Sturlungar clan had a more oppressive view of women as they believed them to be inferior to men so for Skaði to rise to such rank only showed her strength.
The two armies faced off, staring at each other as they waited for their various leaders to give the attack signal but it never came.
"I am Kolbeinn, I am certain you have heard about me…" Kolbeinn blurted out, confusing everyone because now was not the time for talking, now was the time for blood.
"I am Skaði and I must say, it is an honor meeting you and even more of an honor being the one to kill you," Skaði was polite despite having told Kolbeinn she was going to kill him.
Gudrun noticed what her father was doing, he was stalling and she understood why.
He had seen the force of this army, if she was somehow to join Sturla then all will be lost
Gō told them that the army was huge but he never expected it to be on this scale, they easily outnumbered them and warriors of the Sturlungar clan were reputed to be fierce warriors.
"Hahaha! Let us hope it does not come to that. I have a proposal for you, Skaði," Kolbeinn said, this piqued the interest of the woman as her body language gave him the go-ahead he was looking for.
"How about we duel to the death? I am aware you know that you will lose more men than you would like to if we fight right now but a duel will eliminate this. I want us to fight to the death and the victor may decide the fate of the vanquished," Kolbeinn proposed, this was a good idea that will preserve both strength and time of the victor.
Skaði entertained this idea, rubbing her chin.
"That is one fine proposal but there is a problem…" Skaði said, pausing as she snapped her fingers, a spear was given to her.
".... I like chaos, I like blood, and most especially, I like the helpless screams of my enemies," Skaði said, she was covered in armor to protect her lower torso and thighs but the armor served as a corset due to how it pushed her breasts up.
Kolbeinn immediately knew that his plan had failed, and before he knew it, a full-out battle was about to begin with Skaði charging with an army.
Kolbeinn knew this was a dire situation but he was not about to back down.
"Archers! Let loose!" Kolbeinn instructed and the backline of his warriors rained down arrows.
They kept raining because Skaði had a considerable distance to cover but Gudrun did something clever.
She had instructed part of the archers to fire their arrows in a linear manner making how they protected themselves limited.
If they raised their shields, then they were susceptible to the arrows aimed at their chest from the second line.
Skaði did not try to establish a formation and they all just kept running but Kolbeinn soon noticed why.
It was eerie but they split, diverging into two extra paths.
An arc from the left, an arc from the right, and then straight down the middle with Skaði leading the charge.
This meant that the arrows no longer had a focal point and their effectiveness was significantly reduced.
Kolbeinn told the men at the front to equip their weapons because he knew this was about to be bloody.
The Mad Hound charged right at Skaði, with Kolbeinn holding formation behind as they braced for the impact from their flanks, the accuracy of the archers reduced until they were no longer hitting their mark.
Gudrun, however, was not having this problem.
She was knocking them down and being a long-range fighter, she was ineffective in close quarters.
"Look at the size of you!" Skaði barked the moment she saw the Mad Hound charge right at her.
Kolbeinn had seen his strength, Skaði should not stand a chance against him.
The Mad Hound slammed his blade right into the ground, where she stood as the snow rose to momentarily mask the area.
Kolbeinn believed he had gotten her, everyone did but this was further from the truth.
Skaði had not only dodged his sword but used it as a foothold to jump and slit the Mad Hound's neck.
"The bigger they are, the harder they fall! Boy, do I love that saying!" Skaði teased as the Mad Hound dropped behind her.
"What!?" Kolbeinn thought to himself, she had one tapped the Mad Hound that had defeated him with relative ease.
"Now then, how about you big guy," Skaði said, pointing her spear at Kolbeinn right before her men ran past her, concealing her presence.
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