I'm Trapped Inside a Prince as the Most Powerful Entity-Chapter 73: The Empire’s Cruelty

Eric stood panting by the throne room door, staring at the huge, golden-armored warrior.

He suddenly recognized him. The fancy clothes, the big size, the super strong vibe – this had to be a warrior from the Empire.

Eric knew this because his teachers had always told him that the strongest, most unbeatable army on the continent belonged to the Empire of the Mountains.

This Empire was ruled by the super powerful Emperor Sir David.

Eric had read about their soldiers, their discipline, and their power, but seeing one in real life, giving off such a scary vibe in his own father’s hall, was shocking and made him nervous.

The Imperial warrior, who had briefly noticed Eric without turning around, now slowly turned to face the young prince.

The heavy, suffocating energy he was giving off, which had been pressing down on everyone, suddenly stopped.

It vanished like it was never there. The air felt strangely light, but the tension was still super thick. After giving Eric a quick, dismissive look, the warrior turned back to King Noor IV.

"King Noor," the warrior said. His voice was smooth, but now it was filled with clear disrespect, which was even more insulting than his earlier show of power. "Is this the son you love so much? The one you’ve risked so much for, and ignored so much for?" He laughed, a short, mean laugh.

"You really are too soft, King of Estoria. What kind of ruler keeps such a weak, unimpressive son so close, protecting him when he clearly hasn’t earned it?" His cold, cruel eyes flicked back to Eric for a second.

"If this kid, this... thing... was born in any other kingdom, under any smarter ruler, his family would have left him in the wilderness or had him quietly killed by now to save themselves the embarrassment and the waste of resources."

King Noor IV’s face, already serious, got even tighter at the rude, purposeful insult.

He still couldn’t figure out why a Captain from the Empire, a ranking soldier of Emperor Sir David, was in his kingdom, acting so aggressively for no reason. Was he just here to embarrass him, to send some kind of hidden political message with brute force and insults?

Soldiers from the Empire were known for being arrogant and thinking they were better than everyone, but they didn’t usually attack kings so directly and without reason. There was usually a proper way to do things, a reason, even if it was hard to understand.

Eric, meanwhile, was completely stunned. The Imperial captain’s words hit him hard, each one like a painful sting. He had only ever read about the Emperor and the Empire’s scary soldiers in books; he had never seen either in person until now. Facing such raw power and such mean disrespect was a shocking way to meet them.

Suddenly, before anyone could do anything, King Noor IV watched in complete shock as the Imperial Captain disappeared from in front of the throne. In a flash of golden armor too fast to see, the warrior reappeared right above Eric, who was still standing near the entrance.

The warrior was huge, his broad shoulders in full armor making Eric look small and weak in comparison, like a little kid.

The moment the warrior appeared over him, before Eric could even understand what was happening, the Imperial Captain slammed his armored hand down hard on the back of Eric’s neck and head.

The hit was sickeningly solid, smashing Eric’s face into the hard, unforgiving marble floor of the throne room.

"How dare you break the Emperor’s sacred law!" the warrior boomed, his voice echoing through the hall, timed perfectly with the awful crack as Eric’s head hit the hard stone.

King Noor IV, who had been standing tensely before his throne, was beyond shocked. A choked cry ripped from his throat. Pure, uncontrolled anger, mixed with a father’s terror, made him rush forward.

He lunged, planning to jump from the raised platform, to attack the warrior, to protect his son.

The Imperial warrior, without even looking back, just held out a hand, palm open, in a casual, almost uncaring way towards the King.

"King Noor," he said, his voice cool and completely emotionless despite the violence he had just committed, "if you dare touch me, an officer of the Imperial Legions acting under the Empire’s orders, the entire Empire, along with all the other kingdoms will declare war on your kingdom. Have you forgotten what the Emperor himself said about this?"

Hearing the clear, undeniable threat, the King stopped dead at the very edge of the platform. His forward movement died, his body shaking with anger he was barely holding back. He shouted, his voice raw with fury and pain, "You are abusing your power! This is outrageous! I will report this horrible act to the Emperor himself! He will hear about this!"

The Imperial warrior just smiled, a cold, humorless twist of his lips. He reached down, grabbed Eric’s hair tightly in his armored fist, lifted the prince’s head a few inches from the floor – showing a smear of blood already appearing on the marble – and then, slowly and cruelly, slammed it back down onto the hard stone. Another sickening thud echoed in the silent hall.

The King watched, his face a mask of agony. Somehow, he managed to stop himself from intervening, from tearing the warrior apart. The threat of war, of his kingdom being destroyed, held him like an invisible trap.

The warrior then spoke again, his voice still calm, still filled with that chilling disrespect. "Do you really believe, King Noor, that I am doing this on my own? Are you that clueless, so safe in your small kingdom, that you don’t understand the situation? Or are you just pretending not to know to try and save a little bit of your broken pride?"

The King didn’t understand. His mind was spinning, trying to connect this brutal attack with any known order from the Empire or political move. "What are you talking about?" he demanded, his voice hoarse, his eyes fixed on Eric’s unmoving body. "Get away from my son! and Explain yourself!"

Inside Eric’s body Adam saw everything. He saw the ’tiny Imperial soldier,’ as Adam insultingly called him, arrogantly smashing Eric – his body, the body Adam was currently using when he chose to appear – into the ground. Adam’s anger, instantly boiled over. freewёbnoνel.com

His sense of self, almost god-like pride, was badly, unbearably hurt by this complete disrespect towards a body he basically considered his own.

He roared inside his mind, a silent explosion of rage that only he could feel: "Millennia! Quickly, get rid of this stupid barrier! I need to take control of Eric’s body, now! I will rip this tiny human bug limb from limb! How dare he put his filthy hands on my body!" Adam wasn’t angry because he cared about Eric’s suffering.

He felt nothing for the boy himself, only a possessive rage that his current body was being treated so badly. He simply needed Eric’s body to be okay and undamaged because, in his mind, it was a part of him.

At Adam’s furious demand, a familiar glowing screen appeared in Eric’s vision. However, Eric’s head was currently smashed face-first into the cold marble floor, blood leaking from the cut on his forehead, making his vision blurry.

The world was a dizzying, painful mess. But, amazingly, he was still conscious, though dazed and in a lot of pain. Because of his position and the injury, the [System Interface] didn’t show up as a visible screen this time. Instead, he heard its calm, robotic voice speaking directly into his mind, a clear, urgent message cutting through the pain.

[System Alert: Host Eric. Serious physical injury detected. Immediate protection needed. I must protect you. Give me control of your body to stop the threat.]

Hearing this clear, direct offer from the System, both Adam (inside Eric) and Millennia fully expected Eric to agree. It was the smart thing to do, the only logical reaction to such a dangerous, life-threatening attack. The System had saved him before; it would save him again.

But something completely unexpected happened.

Eric, his mind spinning from the brutal hits, throbbing with terrible pain, blood blurring his sight, thought with a clear, stubborn defiance, No. The thought was firm, unshakeable, despite the agony. I have to fight this myself. I... I will not take your help this time, System Window.