I dropped to the forest floor, invoking the Founder's Name as I did so. At first, I only fended them off, learning how they moved and what techniques and elemental techniques they used. Damage started to get through to me a little, but clearly none of them had a movement technique on par with Sky Serpent Eluding Heaven's Wrath. Even with nine people attacking me, barely one move in twenty even grazed me.
Three of the soul barriers of the foes pressing around me flickered out, and they started hanging back compared to the others. That slight easing of pressure allowed me to notice that the three remaining archers were now quite close together to one another.