Become a Fortress, part 3

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“The second important rule of defending yourself is anticipation. If you know what your enemy is about to do, your chances of preventing them from doing so drastically increase. Being able to see the patterns in your opponent’s attacks is what will save you in the long run. But more importantly, anticipation will allow you not to get into trouble in the first place.

When I served as a personal guard to an Italian duke whose name I will not reveal here, I found myself escorting him through the narrow streets of Venice. My ward was being targeted by the mercenaries of a political rival, and they knew exactly where we would be at any given time of day. It was obvious that a narrow street was the perfect spot to trap us. So I made sure that I and others in the duke’s retinue held large shields. In the fashion of Roman legionnaires, we made a turtle formation and turned ourselves into a walking carapace, with the duke safely hidden between us. Slowly but surely, we made it through the day, with no blade or arrow ever reaching our ward.”