They had managed to catch the village somewhat in surprise, but their defense was up surprisingly quickly. Those who could fight had managed to gather together and push back some of Astrid's women. A couple had fallen in the snow, screaming insults at their opponents as they bled to death in the name of whatever god they chose to pray to. The matron mother's eyes narrowed and she was displeased at their quick reaction time. Another push would be needed if they wished to wipe out the entire village. Luckily they had less women capable of handling a sword, but this didn't mean that those who were able to fight should be underestimated due to their numbers.<br/><br/>"Together now!" She yelled out to her allies. "Push through them and run them down! Leave no one alive!"<br/><br/>This command was happily accepted. The women regrouped and pushed against their opponents, engaging in a fierce battle against them. Astrid took her enemies down as swiftly as she could, hoping to make this a fairly quick raid. If another village caught them now it the situation could be turned around quite fast and they would have to run home licking their wounds. She needed this success for the well-being of the village as well; it had been a poor harvest and any riches this village had would allow them to trade for more food and persist through the tough winter. It was the way of life in her homeland, although it was quite cruel, it was acceptable.<br/><br/>Further away Inge was going through houses, slaying whoever she found and taking note of anything valuable she should come back for later when the battle would be over and the village secured to them. As she exited one house, she noticed a girl of her age push through some her allies with particularly magnificent strength and precision. One could notice she had been trained by a talented master and this made Inge a little jealous. She wanted this girl to die, so she could be the greatest warrior. Inge's eyes lit up when a comrade of hers smacked the girl on her head with the hilt of her sword and then picked her up, ready to slit her throat.<br/><br/>"Halt!" Inge yelled to her comrade who seemed confused. "Let me finish this one! She seems to think she can oppose to us and needs to be taught a lesson." She flashed an arrogant smile to the girl, her fingers curling even tighter around her magnificent mace. The other warrior pushed the girl into the snow, spat towards her and stepped back, allowing the matron's daughter to take care of it. Inge grinned in excitement. "Stand up! Don't be such an easy target. Die standing up or die lying on the ground, it's your choice!" Inge hardly gave the girl time to make choice, already going on the offensive by swinging her mace towards the girl, aiming to crack her skull.<br/><br/>Astrid pushed inside one of the houses after liberating herself from a few duels and searched. She wanted to find the matron mother of this village and let her know that this would be her last night alive. It was common practice for her to kill the matron mother of every village, if she had the opportunity. Nobody else could provide them a proper death in Astrid's eyes and, moreover, if the matron was capable of fighting, she would undoubtedly be one of the finest warriors in the village. Her children, too, were something to take note of and she could only hope that no one had laid a sword on the matron's family just yet.