Despite the look in those eyes, Sage had no plans of falling down at this fellow’s feet. The enemy’s arrogance was immense. After attacking so many times and having their foe disappear, an intelligent enemy would have changed positions and set up another chance to attack from long range. Yet, this fellow didn’t bother to do any of that. They were attacking casually while Sage approached into range and finally laid eyes upon his assailant.

Is this some sort of weird honor code? If you survive the first ambush you get to see who is going to kill you? Or is my foe just a complete idiot and doesn’t know how to change positions? Are they just conserving energy?

It didn’t really matter at this point, as once Sage got the enemy in view, he could mount a counterattack. He held up another shield in front of himself and then kneeled down on the ground. An arrow struck the shield in front of him, Sage had seen the enemy target his shins and so he’d quickly dropped down. It was also quite convenient for his next move. Sage reached out to touch the root of a tree beneath him, and felt the energy fluctuation of a dozen more arrows. He aimed the shield towards his foe and it burst apart, launching those arrows back where they came. They shot out with a somewhat random trajectory, but now that Sage could see his foe, he could at least aim it in that general direction. He was blasted backward by the detonation of the shield, but he spun back behind a tree trunk and touched his hand to it.

Then the enemy archer finally moved, leaping off the bough he was on and floating through the air towards another tree. The branch he was previously standing on was now emitting a soft pink gas. Just before they touched down on the second tree that one also released a pink gas. Sage finally felt the surge of Law energy in the air and a heavy gust of wind blew the archer away from the trees and back down towards the ground. The forest around them immediately erupted with pink mist. The area of the Sacred Banyan’s influence had finally spread this far and the Killer Garden Poison poured from all the trees and plants around them.

While the wind was carrying the enemy away, Sage suddenly opened his mouth and a dark flash shot from between his lips. It shot through the blowing wind heading straight for the enemy. Then there was the sound of rushing air that was loud enough to drown out the wind. The archer shot downwards, darting out of the way of Sage’s attack. That flash splattered against a rock and sizzled like oil in a pan. The Third Eye’s End had missed, that surprise attack was aimed at the enemy’s head, but they shot out of the way with a rush of wind.

The enemy pulled back their bow and two arrows appeared on it. Sage rolled to the side and pulled out another shield. Only this time there was no energy fluctuation. Instead, Sage felt the energy part to either side of him and he cursed inwardly.

Boom!

The arrows traveled on different paths, launching to either side of him, avoiding the shield and detonating in mid-air. The shafts of the arrows weren’t enlarged, but they still carried array symbols upon them. The force of the explosion wasn’t nearly as powerful as the earlier ones, but they detonated to either side of him. Trapped between those two forces, he couldn’t dissipate any of the power by getting thrown backwards. Each explosive pushed him into the other. He was crushed between them and his clothing was shredded. Sage coughed up blood and pulled out a second shield, just in time for the same attack to come flying in.

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An arrow showed up at either side of him and Sage thrust out both hands to absorb them into the pair of shields. The two arrows disappeared just in time for him to see the enemy with another arrow on their bow. He saw the trajectory of the arrow with Foresight and quickly bent backwards. He twisted his upper body and the arrow shot over his right shoulder, striking the same wound that had been inflicted on him earlier. It had mostly healed from the pills he took while crawling underground, but this attack ripped it open again.

Sage did a backwards somersault and rolled behind a thick tree trunk, clapping the two shields around himself like a turtle shell. Then something thunked into the tree and a black band shot out from either side of the tree, wrapping around the shields and pinning him beneath them. The bands looped around him and the tree like a thick cable, locking him in place. At the same time, Sage felt a coolness spreading from the place the arrow struck his shoulder. He quickly released the shields and the golden aura around his hands shifted into blades. The blades passed cleanly through the shields and the bands trapping him. He rolled away from the tree just as the center of it exploded outwards. A fast moving projectile blasted clean through the three foot thick trunk like it wasn’t even there.

With the blades hanging from his hands, Sage kicked hard on the ground and showed a speed he had been reserving during his approach earlier. The aura around his legs was nearly burned to nothing and he shot towards the archer. He held a palm out to the air and ducked his head to the side, firing off a burst of air to avoid the arrow coming for his head. Then he twisted his shoulders to the side and kicked both feet into the air. Any other person would just flop onto their side upon the ground like a fish, but somehow he shot to the side, swimming through the air. Then he rolled sideways. Then a second time, a third time. With the help of Cosmic Traction he could treat any space as a liquid or solid. He swam through the open air and then rolled upon a flat ground three feet off the ground. The absurdity of his movements let him dodge three more arrows and then the fourth stuck into the ground in front of him. He saw what was coming, but only had time to lift his hands up to his ears.

A violent soundwave was released from that arrow on the ground. A piercing sound that rippled through his flesh and rattled his bones.

Then the archer ripped off his mask and their lips pursed. A chirping sound was released and Sage felt it echoing into his body. Blood leaked from his ears and nose, that powerful energy was so intense he was shocked into stillness. His vision was blurry, but he saw the enemy drawing back the bow again and firing it into his abdomen, aimed right at his Dantian. Even as a Nascent Soul, losing the Dantian of his body would cripple the energy he could pour into his body. At that point he would nearly be forced to vacate his body and try to escape with just his Nascent Soul.

Sage’s body wasn’t responding to him and so his Spirit Power poured out, wrapping around him and pulling him to the side just in time to dodge that arrow that he saw with Foresight. He was still intact. He also finally knew his opponent was. He had seen that young and arrogant face nearly a week ago. Jinxi Po.