Exploitable Weaknesses by Brian Keller (best interesting books to read txt) 📕

north, indicating one of the few actual thorofares in the neighborhood. Cooper nodded his assent. The Guild members that accompanied them were challenged enough by simply making the trip. Attempting to cross these trenches would be akin to an Apprentice attempting to tame Master Brais’ obstacle course.

Once committed to using a main road, they wasted no time in entering the roadway and moving along it. They’d walked the equivalent of two blocks before some residents of the neighborhood introduced themselves. Five men dressed in clothing that more closely resembled rags than anything else stepped out and barred their way. Naro had already passed and must have slipped into the shadows since there was no sign of him. One of the men spoke, “Drop off yer valu’buls an’ we’ll let ya pass. Otherwise, me an’ me boys ‘ere’ll gut ever’ last one-a ya.” Cooper glanced around. Surely these men didn’t expect to stop thirty people with only five men, despite the fact that they were armed and most of his fellow Guild member were not, nor were they fighters. He scanned rooftops and spaces between buildings and counted at least seven more, perhaps as many as ten; none on rooftops and, gratefully, he noticed no crossbows. Cooper pushed his cloak back behind his shoulders and leaned forward, “We don’t have time to deal with you right now, but expect to see some of us again in a few days.” All five men took a step backward and an expression of uncertainty crossed their faces, “You’re Guild?! But the Guild is all gone!” Cooper allowed himself a small smile, “I disagree…” He rolled his shoulders and let his hands hover at his hips. He heard the people behind him shuffling, supposedly arranging themselves to better face their attackers. The five men in front of him were trying to figure out what to do now. One of them men whispered loudly, “We gotta kill ‘em all. If he’s really Guild, then he’ll come back wit’ others. There’s jes’ him an’ a coupla others now. We c’n take ‘em quick an’ no-one’ll know what ‘appened to ‘em.” A wicked smile formed on the face of the man who’d spoken first, “An’ we’d be the gang that fought the Guild an’ won…” He squinted at Cooper, “Whaddiya say to that?” Cooper said nothing. His hands flashed backward as he stepped forward. He hadn’t fully completed his first step before he had a blade firmly gripped in each hand. Naro had apparently heard the exchange and taken his signal. All five men were facing Cooper so none of them saw Naro emerge from the shadows behind them. He heard some of the men from the side streets call out a warning but they were much too late. Cooper hadn’t even killed the first man, the one who’d done most of the talking, before Naro had killed two and was moving to his third. The two remaining men had the presence of mind to position themselves back to back once they realized the odds had suddenly become even. Cooper muttered loud enough for Naro to hear, “There’s many more behind me. You either handle these two, or go help our people. It’s all the same to me. We leave the bodies where they fall, and we let one or two of them live. Word will get around.” Naro replied as he moved, “Balat will need a hand. I’ll go.” Cooper dropped his head and slumped his shoulders, as if in regret, and faced the two men with a chilling stare, “He just killed you. He shouldn’t have spoken a name for you to hear.” He took three quick steps forward, quickly moving inside the guard of the closest man. As he moved he made a specific mental note, the man was left handed. The man stepped backward and pulled his hands closer, defensively. The other man swung his dagger in a wide arc, as if he had a full-length sword, attempting to reach Cooper. Cooper’s left hand slashed his blade from left to right, making a deep cut beneath the man’s ribs. His right hand raised almost to shoulder level to block, as much due to the training as to the position of the man’s blade. Cooper was now in the midst of a practiced routine and he stepped to his right, using the wounded man’s stature to shield him from the other man. As the wounded man started to crumple, to protect his injured side, he half thrust-half slashed with the blade in his left hand. Cooper met that blade with his own and guided the movement downward, twisting his wrist as he moved, capturing the other man’s blade and almost disarming him in the process. He quickly raised his own left hand and, rather than shifting from a reversed grip, he simply punched with his pommel into the soft tissue behind the man’s chin, snapping the man’s head back and exposing his throat. A quick direction change and shift of the wrist caused the blade to open the man’s throat. As this man fell, the other man dropped his weapon into the mud at his feet, “Mercy! We didn’t know!” Cooper shook his head, “At first. You didn’t know at first. You’ll find no mercy here.” After leaving the last man bleeding from no less than three fatal cuts, Cooper quickly turned to face the rest. Balat, fighting with one hand, had been joined by Naro. They were faring well but on the other side of the group, Gaff was severely pressed and was being assisted by Miss Camilla, with a short blade of her own. Her movements were practiced, but not smooth. It was obvious that she hadn’t used a blade in this fashion for quite some time, but still it was enough to protect herself and help shield Gaff on one side. Cooper sprinted to assist them, fearing what might happen to either of them. His sudden arrival came as surprise