Did Sigurd assume he'd be able to pierce through both Iolanthe's shield, and her cuirass in one strike? The order in which she made her attack was peculiar, but important. She had first retracted her spear from its full length, and swiftly so giving a two foot draw back in order to re-adjust its trajectory, roughly the length of her arm which had fully extended at first. Her guard was at its peak the minute she lead with her left foot, for her hoplon already covered half of her body whilst tucked to her waist, raising it upwards in a drawing motion only further protected her chest, leaving a small gap above the shield to keep an eye on the movements of Sigurd's shoulders and eyes. From the angle she stood, a basic stabbing motion could easily be dodged, however she had already committed to her attack, and quickly adjusted the angle of her strike the minute her eyes traced Sigurd's sidestep. Her gladius weighed barely anything, and she had already prepared unsheathing it from the beginning of the match, drawing it and punching existed as the same motion, and thus aiming for Sigurd's sword arm in the first place would turn favorably.
A loud clash of steel echoed across the battlefield, as the edge of Iolanthe's shield instead struck the strong fuller of Sigurd's blade before it could reach his shoulder adjusted, and before his stab could graze her breast. Depending on how strong he was, he might be able to hold her hoplon in place and keep the clinch steady, however making a heart-seeker stab, and assuming his first strike to be his last, meant there was a large sum of kinetic force in his attack which would be redirected towards her shoulder pauldron instead. The tip grazed over her pauldron, and the blade scratched the delicate bronze portrait welded over the reinforced steel. Had Sigurd been any weaker a man, his sword would've bounced back at him, ending the fight right then and there.
Many assumed that once they breached past the end of a spear or lance, the weapon would be rendered obsolete, for Iolanthe, such commonplace tactics did not work. The entire side of the spear was a blade, thus making clinch-combat not entirely hopeless for the girl. Although her weapon was at first deflected, she made sure to retract it away from Sigurd's strange scaly shield, which she estimated to be about the same size as her hoplon. Unless the Viking dared bend over to try and reflect the repositioning of Hyperion, it would indeed weasel its way under the shield as Iolanthe intended, dragging along the rugged rock as it did so, and eventually finding its way to Sigurd's unarmoured legs, the greatest weakness found in his defense thus far. She had no option to stab, and could only reach his heel if attempting to avoid another deflected attack, so she'd only have enough room to try and trip him with the blade-edge of her lance, a sweeping slash. Hyperion may not have caught him between the legs as intended, and he still had a chance to block the attack if he slammed his shield downwards, however given the failure of his first attack, and the likelihood he'd be thrust backwards in the process, Iolanthe had great confidence in the success of her spear's attack.
Whilst many warriors relied on strength, dexterity, or instinct, Iolanthe's greatest power was her perception, and her brainpower. She'd prove here the unflinching resolve of a woman, and her own ability to multitask in the heat of a battle. Given the blessings of Hyperion, it was child's play for her to pull off such complex maneuvers during split-second combat.
