The anomaly had been observing the fight, and seeing Sal burst out with speed rivaling spiritualists—an act that shouldn't be possible for a level 2 introductory phase combatant who can only manifest around a thousand pounds of force—left it awed.
The anomaly wondered,
'How did he pull that off?
'It can't be martial arts. They can't induce such a drastic improvement in the speed of an introductory phase combatant.
'Then it has to be spiritual techniques. While martial arts can double the strength exhibited by an introductory phase combatant at complete mastery, spiritual techniques can temporarily enhance abilities to an even greater extent, drastically increasing speed, strength, and agility far beyond normal limits.
'However, introductory phase combatants can't use spiritual techniques as they have no channels to direct their spiritual energy outwards. So how did he do it when he is just a level 2 introductory phase combatant?'
'Could it be that it isn't a spiritual technique?
'Well, won't I know if I ask him directly!'
"Was that a spiritual technique?" The voice of the anomaly sounded directly in Sal's mind.
"Yeah," Sal replied in his mind as he stepped over the corpses of the men he had just killed. Just then, he was asked another question.
"Introductory phase combatants shouldn't be able to use spiritual techniques. How did you do it?"
Not feeling bothered, he replied, "My cultivation manual makes it possible."
"I see," the anomaly's voice drifted off into silence. It quieted down as its questions had been answered and its curiosity had been satisfied.
Wisps of smoke rose from the corpses behind Sal as he charged straight towards the tent with big leather panels.
The sounds of moaning were no longer coming from inside the tent.
This meant the commotion had alerted Big Joe, and he was no longer indulging in lust
For all Sal knew, Big Joe might have already armed himself.
Maybe he was holding a gun and aiming it at the entrance of the tent at this exact moment. Who knows?
As if Big Joe being armed with a gun was nothing to worry about, Sal charged into the tent without any hesitation.
Inside, the bed was in disarray, and a girl was on it, covering her body with a blanket.
Beside the bed stood a tall, burly man in his birthday suit. From head to toe, he was naked. He had brown skin, a bald head, and beady eyes. His beady eyes were squinted and gleamed with a ruthless light. He held a gun in his hand, and it was pointed directly at the person who had entered the tent unannounced
"Who the hell are you? And what did you do to my guards?" Big Joe asked. His voice was a growl no different than a beast. It was clear that if Sal gave a wrong answer, it would trigger Big Joe into gunning him down like the American he was.
Tilting his umbrella, Sal revealed his eyes. They were gleaming with a cold, icy light, like a thousand-year-old iceberg. Big Joe felt like he had seen these eyes before, as if they belonged to someone he knew, but he couldn't quite put a finger on who it could be. Sal's face which was hidden under the umbrella, his worn-out clothes, and his body caked with dirt, definitely didn't help Big Joe in identifying him.
"They're dead. Just like you will be."
Sal's reply to Big Joe was chilling, but it puzzled the big oaf. To dare disrespect the man who could decide his life and death at any moment—was this person who was using an umbrella to hide his face not quite right in the head?
Alternatively, perhaps he simply failed to grasp the gravity of his situation. After all, guns were rare in this era. People living in a backwater place like the refugee camp of the Banu Fortress might not come across such a weapon of the Earthrealm in their entire lives. He might not know what it was, which was why he was acting so recklessly.
Unbeknownst to him, however, Sal harbored no such confusion. He knew what a gun was, but he also knew it wasn't enough to take his life. He knew how to counter it.
Big Joe's eyes narrowed, his finger tightening on the trigger.
"You must have a death wish, being so blunt."
Without another word, Big Joe fired his gun, not once, not twice, but several times.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The sound of multiple shots echoed through the tent as several bullets cut through the air, charging toward the place where Sal once stood. He had already anticipated the trajectory of the bullets by observing the angle of Big Joe's gun barrel and rolling out of their way.
Seeing that he had all but missed, Big Joe pulled the trigger again and again after aiming at Sal, "Damn insect! Die, die, die!"
"Fool."
It was going to take more than just blindly relying on a weapon to take Sal down. Unfortunately, Big Joe was too blinded by his arrogance to realize that. So what could he be if not a fool?
Sacrificing an entire stage of cultivation to utilize a movement-type spiritual technique, Sal moved with a speed that defied belief. His form was a blur as he evaded the bullets flying at him while closing the distance between him and Big Joe.
The bullets he dodged tore through the leather panels of the tent, opening tiny holes in them. From these holes, a few figures could be seen rising from the ground. If Sal had witnessed this scene, he would have felt chilled. These figures were the guards of Big Joe he had killed with his own hands!
Click!
Seeing Sal closing in, Big Joe aimed at his head and quickly pulled the trigger again, but nothing came out of the gun's barrel.
Big Joe's pupils dilated. The magazine was empty, and he had no time to reload or change magazines as Sal was already upon him, brandishing his sword, "You are done for!"
Whoosh!
His slash was too swift and fast. Big Joe had consumed a lot of alcohol tonight, so he was definitely drunk and sluggish. On top of that, he had been fighting a battle with Lara on his bed for the last two hours, so he was also tired. As a result, despite being a level 2 introductory phase combatant, he couldn't react to Sal's slash. He had neither the energy nor the clarity to dodge this strike!
This is one of the reasons assassins were so feared. They attacked when their target least expected it. Big Joe was simply not prepared for this battle!
Splat!
The sword sliced through Big Joe's hands. The gun clattered to the floor as his hands dropped beside it. A gun was a powerful tool, but it was very hard to use without hands. With Big Joe losing both his hands, he couldn't use the gun anymore. He was done for as Sal had said!
"Argh!"
Big Joe cried out in agony as blood burst out of his severed wrists.
"Too loud," Sal complained as he struck again.
His sword sliced through the air with deadly precision and bit into Big Joe's thick neck. Big Joe's neck was thick and sturdy like a beast's. It was hard to penetrate, but Sal's simple slash wasn't as simple as it seemed. It was backed by a thousand pounds of force.
Sal could have mustered twice that strength if he had used his sword arts that were at complete mastery or several to dozens of times that strength if he had sacrificed his cultivation base to use an offensive spiritual technique, but he was a stern believer in the saying that a butcher's knife was enough to slaughter a pig. Why use a cannon?
A slash backed by a thousand pounds of force was enough to deal with the likes of Big Joe.
Sling!
His sword sliced through Big Joe's neck, beheading him.
Like his subordinates, the menace that had haunted the siblings and forced one of them to death was now also dead!