Faced with the Fryce Family guards' taunts and the five halberd points aimed straight at him, Renato did not hesitate. He turned and ran.
He knew perfectly well that the situation looked grim. Not only was he outnumbered, but more female Drow guards were struggling to rise from the rubble and steadily joining the battle.
The guards' equipment and combat skills were no worse than his, either. Renato had no desire to test whether his spells and heavy armor could withstand the thrusts, cuts, chops, and blows of five adamantine halberds at once.
Besides, he was no fool who lost his head at the sight of an enemy. They were the ones who needed to hurry. Why should he attack first?
Watching the tall, vicious-looking swordsman wreathed in ominous black smoke turn and flee without hesitation, the female guards stared in disbelief. Then they immediately understood.
He was not trying to escape. He was "attacking in reverse"!
Renato was striding toward the altar deep within the central hall. The small adamantine door stood just ten feet away. Behind it lay the Fryce Family's secret chamber, where Matron Mother Ginafi and the other priestesses were probably gathered before the altar, frantically praying and offering sacrifices in a last, desperate struggle.
Those priestesses were the Fryce Family's last hope of turning the tide. The guards would never let anyone extinguish that hope!
"Stop him!"
At their leader's command, all five guards broke their previously airtight formation almost simultaneously and raced anxiously after Renato, halberds leveled.
Their tightly coordinated defense naturally developed gaps as their differing speeds pulled them apart.
Yet Renato's target had never been the secret chamber housing the altar.
His move was merely a feint. He had no intention of entering the Fryce Family priestesses' refuge alone and facing more