After slaying the Mind Flayer, Renato did not rashly join the other battles. Instead, he immediately withdrew his sword and backed away, climbing the altar's stone steps to survey the fighting around him.
The battle beside the altar was utter chaos. The Mind Flayers' ambush had thrown the Duergar into disarray. Civilians scattered and fled, only to be slaughtered like livestock driven into a hunt.
Only Flori and a handful of Duergar warriors had banded together into a battle formation. Steel crossbow strings kept snapping, and halberds swung, finally mounting an effective counterattack against the Mind Flayers.
A Dungeon Scout pulled the trigger. The bolt pierced a Mind Flayer's Psionics Shield, only to bounce off its carapace.
These scattered counterattacks were a drop in the bucket. Apart from the one Renato had slain, the other Mind Flayers were virtually unhurt. Meanwhile, more Mind Flayers stepped out of newly opened portals.
Without needing to communicate, three Mind Flayers immediately broke off their slaughter of the civilians and moved to surround Renato from both sides.
Clearly, he had been marked as a priority target because of the considerable threat he posed.
Renato narrowed his eyes. These Mind Flayers were not much stronger physically than the Aberrations he had encountered before, but their instinctive reactions in close combat were exceptionally fast.
Plenty of Duergar civilians nearby were still getting in the way. It would take the Mind Flayers a dozen seconds or more to reach Renato.
There was still time. Considering the Mind Flayers' teleportation abilities, Renato chose not to flee. He opened his Bag of Holding, calmly pulled out a stopper, and tipped back a bottle of Oil of Speed.
As the potion went down, the bitter, oily liquid burned Renato's mouth and esophagus like a powerful acid, almost robbing him of