The only reason that tree could withstand the strike of the archer was that Sage’s Qi was empowering the Sacred Banyan to continually grow and reinforce around it. Many layers of hardening vines were shattered apart and Sage immediately realized he couldn’t sustain this layer of defense continually. Those arrows were just too powerful. He made a quick decision and poured most of his Qi into the tree in front of him and then dashed to the side.
His motion put him back into the line of fire of the archer, but he already knew which direction the enemy was in and he had his foresight to show him when the next attack would come. The Golden Mantis Body wasn’t just like a suit or armor, nor was it only able to shape itself into a weapon, it also served the purpose of enhancing his body’s strength and speed. The motion of Qi within the body allowed a cultivator to exhibit greater physical ability than a normal person. A Qi Cultivator’s body was strengthened with each rank they gained, but most of their strength came from their Qi. The Golden Mantis Body was actually something of a perfected version of the techniques that rank 2 cultivators would use. Upon reaching the second rank, a cultivator’s gaseous Qi was condensed into a liquid state, and they could then push that Qi outside of their body. If that Qi lost contact with the body the cultivator would lose it completely, so there were many whip, polearm, and tail-like abilities to enable long-ranged combat. The Golden Mantis Body had almost reached the pinnacle of what a technique of its kind could do, but it was also very difficult to practice.
For Sage, this complex, but also very low level technique became an invaluable tool. With his energy compressed to a high degree and maintained on the outside of his body, it could boost his strength and also added a defensive layer. Due to how well contained the energy was, it didn’t cost him greatly to maintain it, and he really only expended Qi to repair it from damage and to boost his strength. In fact, the way the Golden Mantis Body boosted his strength was actually a sort of sacrificial enhancement. To increase his strength the area around a joint destroyed itself.
When Sage saw that glimmer of danger the legs of his Golden Mantis Body thinned considerably. The energy exoskeleton burned itself away to add to the already prodigious strength of his legs. He solidified the space under his feet with Cosmic Traction, preventing a massive explosion of the ground, as he kicked hard to propel himself to the side. Even so, his move wasn’t quite fast enough and the glowing layer over his right arm exploded apart. The thing that struck him was moving so fast that he couldn’t even see the projectile or even feel it pass through his body. He darted between the trees at high speed and burned even more of his golden armor to stomp his feet down and hurl himself backwards.
Before he even stopped to assess the damage he was still rushing to avoid further damage and also to draw his enemy into the area he’d just vacated. He’d poured a huge amount of energy into the trees and they were already coming under his command. With a forest that already existed in front of him, the amount of time and energy it would take to create an advantageous battlefield was drastically reduced. The Sacred Banyan didn’t have to grow a forest from scratch, it merely took over a tall tree and used it to spread its aerial roots. Those roots could then attach to the existing trees to act as a conduit for Sage’s Qi. Sage could use his tree manipulating techniques on any tree he was touching, and if the Sacred Banyan could expand to every tree, then the whole forest would become a single tree for him to manipulate.
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Retreating from the area where the Sacred Banyan was rapidly taking control, Sage constantly fed his Golden Mantis Body to restore it. He formed a blade from his hand and started chopping down the trees he passed. He had spun around in mid-air, not letting his back face towards his assailant. He hid behind the thickest trees and used them to absorb most of the force of the arrows. The arrows didn’t seem to follow a flat and unchanging trajectory. It was like they had eyes and wings, twisting and shifting in the air to chase after him when he tried to dodge. This was why even if he could see the arrow coming in the future, it was still able to chase after and strike his arm. With a thick tree in the way, by the time the arrow burst through the thick trunk it didn’t have much time to alter its flight to strike him. Putting an obstacle in the way bought him more time and allowed him to dodge the arrows. Sage wasn’t sure if it was a property of the arrow, or the archer, but either way he was happy to buy a little time.
Once an arrow struck a tree, it was already on the verge of collapse. Sage slashed through the mangled trunk and set it to topple over. Then he ducked down to get a little cover from the remaining trunk and felt another arrow brush past his forehead, completely dispersing the aura around his head. The tree smashed loudly to the ground and he used its thick trunk as a short wall to hide behind. He crouched down and used it to cover him moving to the next tree. Without waiting for another arrow to land, he struck this next tree down, cutting it in such a way that it toppled back towards the first fallen tree. Then he doubled back and found another tree to fall. Each time the trees fell towards others and he used them to rapidly build some crude fortifications. Once two of the thick trunks were stacked up, he had cover for most of his body.
None of the canopies or boughs were removed so they didn’t create a perfect stack of logs. Instead, they were at varying angles and providing very uneven amounts of protection. They served more to obscure the enemy's vision and also give him plenty of obstacles to slow the arrows down as they approached.
At this moment, Sage suddenly dove onto the ground, plastering himself to the forest floor while a truck sized beetle appeared on top of him. There was a loud boom and the dark red bug was blasted apart, spraying chunks of chitin along with its gooey insides over the area. The arrow landed on the ground next to Sage and it blew a three foot wide crater into the ground. The exploding debris from the bug and the detonating ground clattered against his golden aura and shattered half of it away.
Sage was just thinking he’d bought himself a few moments and he stopped to look down at his right arm. Half of his bicep and tricep had been cleanly cleaved off, like a perfect hole had been burned through his body. Thankfully, it hadn’t reached the bone so his arm was still attached, instead it was just a grisly cleaving of the flesh. He was glancing down quickly and then looking back into the distance, like a driver nervously checking the rear view mirror. That was when he saw the arrow coming from above and he dove down. The archer had arced his arrow over the haphazard wall of trees, that or he was already in the upper boughs of the trees and firing at a downward angle.
Sage coughed up a mouthful of blood.