"Come on now– , don't be shy … Benny Boy, come take a swing at me" Hollard said as he very carefully waded into the smoke.
It had been close to fifteen seconds now since the carriages exploded, however, the enemy had shown no signs of movement.
Due to smoke filling the tunnel, Hollard could not clearly see whether or not Ben Faulkner was incapacitated or just waiting for his chance to counterattack, which was why he kept his senses on high alert.
According to him, the ambush he had prepared had been a resounding success and hence he expected Ben Faulkner and his disciple to be heavily injured from the explosion at the least and dead at the best.
However, unless he checked their charred corpses with his own two eyes, he decided to assume the worst scenario, which was that the enemy was alive and waiting for a chance to attack.
"Come on now kitty… if your master won't attack me, a young blood like you should at least take a swing… Come on now–" Hollard encouraged, as he hoped that if Ben Faulkner would not lunge at him, at least his disciple should.
Hollard's taunting voice echoed through the smoky tunnel, but there was no response.
The seconds continued to tick by, and soon his initial wave of confidence began to waver.
Squinting, he tried to pierce the thick veil of smoke, but could unfortunately see nothing through it.
The acrid smell of burning wood and metal filled his nostrils, however, despite him bearing the stench while standing right on-top of the carriage's rubble, he could not spot the enemy.
As time passed, slowly the smoke began to dissipate, revealing the wreckage of the carriage around him as at this moment, his senses began to go on high alert.
Darting his eyes from one charred piece of wood to another, Hollard felt his heart pound loudly in his chest, as he anticipated an attack from any direction now.
However, contrary to his expectations, as the visibility improved, Hollard noticed something alarming!
Somehow, the tunnel was completely empty as there seemed to be no signs of Ben Faulkner or his disciple near the rubble, or anywhere inside the tunnel.
"Fuck–" Hollard cursed, as panic set in his chest at this exact moment.
Afraid, Hollard's skin began to crawl, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
The reputation of the legendary assassin began haunting his thoughts, as the conceited thoughts that he had about killing Ben Faulkner and making a name for himself just a moment ago, were now replaced by fears of his own mortality.
Ben Faulkner was an assassin known for his cunning and deadly precision. The possibility that he was still alive and lurking somewhere within the tunnel, ready to strike, sent chills down Hollard's spine.
"Where are you, you bastard?" Hollard muttered under his breath, rolling over on the floor randomly as he frantically scanned the tunnel.
He felt like a fool, rolling randomly on a burning floor with splinters all around, however, the fear of being caught off guard and killed was overpowering and it compelled him to keep moving, since he did not wish to be caught off-guard with cold feet.
Currently, every shadow within the tunnel seemed to move for him and every sound seemed to echo ominously in his ears, as his senses went into overdrive.
Soon, his eyes darted towards the entrance of the tunnel, where he hoped to catch a glimpse of his elusive prey.
However, to his absolute shock, instead of finding Ben Faulkner and his disciple at the tunnel's entrance, his gaze fell upon a group of men wearing black and white masks, unmistakably the signature of the Virex Corps.
"Oh hell no–" Hollard thought, as the last thing that he wanted in this messed up situation was for a third party to show up.
Hollard's stomach did a backflip when he saw the six Virex officials standing at the mouth of the tunnel with their weapons drawn, as the Virex Corps were the Emperor's personal hunting force, relentless and unforgiving, while he was a wanted criminal who was one of their top targets.
Fear gripped him, stronger now than ever as he realized that he was in deep trouble.
His mind raced, trying to formulate a plan, as for a split second he contemplated fighting them.
However, as he counted their numbers and realized that he wasn't taking on one opponent or two, but rather six, Hollard quickly dropped the idea of fighting them and instead decided to try his luck fleeing for his life.
But where could he go? The tunnel was his trap, and now it seemed like his tomb, as the only way for him to run was to make a dash for the exit at the other end, which was easier said than done with six experienced assassins locking their daggers at him.
"Damn it," he cursed under his breath, backing away slowly, while ensuring that he did not break eye-contact with the Emperor's hunting dogs.
"Stop right there—" shouted one of the Virex Corps members as he threw a dagger towards Hollard with such incredible speed and precision, that Hollard could barely dodge it as it whirred past his cheeks.
*Shua*
"I surrender, please don't kill me" Hollard pleaded, as he threw his hands in the air and pretended to surrender, while simultaneously backing away from the Virex Corps members, as he intended to make a bee-line for the exit soon.
"Where is Ben Faulkner and 'TheBoss', what did you do to them?" asked the squad leader of the Virex Corps, who also seemed to be scanning the rubble for any signs of Ben Faulkner and his disciple, just like Hollard was a moment ago.
"What? You're not here for me, but for Ben Faulkner?" Asked Hollard, feeling hope that perhaps they were not after him.
"No, you, Hollard Wallace, are a wanted criminal of the Night Guild, and will be neutralized by us today, however, before we kill you, tell us why did you attack the leader of your organization? Ben Faulkner!" asked the Virex squad leader, as at this question, Hollard snapped.
"Ben Faulkner was never the leader of the Night Guild or the assassin alliance! We only used his name to heighten our reputation!
However, the assassination's were always carried out by us.
He's a fraud!
The legend of Ben Faulkner is a fraud!" Hollard snapped, as giving this response he turned and decided to make a run for the exit.