Chapter 234: Chapter 219 – A Vicious Slaughter

"Most legends and stories of the Silver Maiden emphasized her otherworldly healing magic. A few mentions her beauty as well, but what most of them tend to leave off was how for a wandering healer, the Maiden was a warrior that would have put most veteran knights to shame with her skills.

 

Probably it was the juxtaposition between a known altruistic, benevolent figure, who dispensed of healing without prejudice nor ever demanded remuneration, with that of a vicious warrior who had slain hundreds, if not thousands with her own hands that made most bards leave this bit out.

 

The oldest songs, ones from what is now Jötunberg, mentioned her as a warrior and a savior, as do some other old songs from Ur-Teros. The newer ones, especially from Alcidea, are the ones who exhibited the above mentioned curiosity more often than not.

 

Why is this so? Nobody knows for certain. Most had chalked it up to the differences in culture between the continents, or claimed that perhaps the figure in question had acted differently in both cases. Probably only the Maiden herself might know why." - Pietro Güldhen, researcher of legends and fables.

The situation unfolded pretty much like Aideen expected. The knights held off the bandits for a while, their spears and solid defenses forced the bandits to dismount and engage them in a melee in all three directions.

 

When the weight of numbers finally caused the defense on one side to break, the knight-captain had rushed there and struck hard as she stabilized the situation, a swift reaction that had Aideen nod in genuine praise.

 

Solenia herself - along with her maids - had rushed to the second spot where the bandits forced a breach. That left the third entrance, which soon also threatened to breach under the pressure of the assault.

 

That was where Aideen lent her weight.

 

She ran towards the spot with large steps, her staff conjured into her hands from within her storage as she ran. With a deft flick of one thumb she manipulated a hidden switch on the staff, and blades locked into place on one end of the weapon.

 

Aideen reached the third entrance just as the bandits broke through, their weapons pushing the knights back. Two of the knights and one of the maids were laid down with heavy wounds already, though they still lived and tried to fight on.

 

The first bandit who shouldered his way through the knights' shield wall had no time to reach when the spearhead at the end of Aideen's staff pierced right through his skull and straight into his brain. The man just collapsed on the spot, dead with a stupefied look on his face.

 

Aideen drew her weapon, then after a glance of the next two bandits in line, thrust out once more. The spearhead of her weapon went through the throat of the woman on the left, and with a yank she tore it out and struck the man next to her with the dagger-axe blade of the weapon, also through the throat. From there, a swift pull tore through the rest of his throat and nearly decapitated the man.

 

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Then Aideen rushed through the gap she just created, while at the same time her hands swiftly disassembled her staff into its three-sectioned form and flicked out the other set of blades. The way she fought meant she wouldn't be able to do that much fighting in formation, and she charged straight into the midst of the enemy formation instead.

 

Her weapon flourished around her almost like the petals of a blooming flower, as she danced around the weapons of the bandits and struck back with fatal results most of the time. Flesh were split and gouged, pierced and sliced. Those unfortunate enough to try to block the staff part of her weapon found their bones shattered and their flesh pulverized instead.

 

In mere minutes, there were barely ten or so of the bandits left, all of whom looked at Aideen with trepidation. Behind her, the knights and maids also stared at her wide-eyed, unsure what to make of the massacre they just witnessed.

 

Aideen pulled back at that moment, and touched each of the knights and maids, as she healed their injuries. The worst of the injuries were two of them with broken limbs, which her magic knitted together in seconds. She then left them to take care of the rest.

 

Eight knights ought to be plenty to deal with the few demoralized bandits leftover, anyway.

 

She herself rushed towards the spot where Solenia headed. The noblewoman fought side by side with her knights, with a few new dents on her armor but otherwise unharmed.

 

The same couldn't be said of her companions, however. One of the older maids lay dead on the ground, her skull shattered by what must have been a vicious blow. Another of the maids - a younger one - was dying, as she desperately tried to hold on to her innards, lest they spilled out of her body, a gruesome gash on her abdomen all but disemboweling the girl.

 

Three of the knights had also left the line, with injuries of varying degrees. One was missing her right arm, another was unconscious, with a sizable dent on the helmet next to him and severe bleeding on his head. The third was on his last breaths, bleeding out from over a dozen wounds.

 

Aideen went to them first, and performed quick, makeshift cures, to seal their wounds and prevent them from worsening. It would not hold for long, but likely enough to last until the battle ended, when she could heal them more thoroughly.

 

Then she turned and charged at the bandits fighting against Solenia and the remaining knights, as she descended upon the hapless bandits much like a sabertooth let loose on a flock of sheep. Her weapon twirled around her in a deadly dance, as she reaped lives where she passed.

 

Blood splattered all over the battlefield like rain, as it drenched her white clothes a deep crimson. Before the stunned eyes of the knights, Aideen slaughtered a good part of the bandits before them, as easily as if she was butchering chickens.

 

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