Meat Knife Party

"Diplomats of the Gordeganemian Kingdom are ready to talk with His Majesty King Meghalodein." The guard at the entrance called out.

Suddenly the whole room was in an uproar, how dare they send an envoy after losing so badly against Seodurnag? Prince Arshakein's gaze fell on the entrance straight in front of him. A group of about twenty people entered the room, carrying a large box, making Prince Arshakein frown.

After a respectful greeting, the leader of the group immediately conveyed his intentions.

"I bring a letter containing the offer of a peace treaty between the two parties ...."

"I reject the offer." King Meghalodein said, eliciting laughter from the room.

"What have you brought, gentlemen?" Prince Shankarein raised his voice as he pointed to the large box that seemed to be the offering tool.

"This is a gift for you if you accept our offer, Your Highness," replied their leader. Two men behind him came forward with the box and opened it.

"A girl?" murmured Prince Shankarein, Prince Arshakein was equally amazed at what they had brought.

"Who does the girl belong to?" said Prince Arshakein. He was sure that the light-skinned girl with tattered clothes and messy hair was not a Gordeganemian.

"Certainly ours, Your Highness." The chief diplomat replied proudly.

"My eyes are not clear enough to see her." King Meghalodein whispered to his children.

"She is quite beautiful, My Father," said Prince Shankarein. "It's just that she looks so scruffy."

"Oh, that's understandable." The King smiled.

"What is not understandable is if these messengers deceive us." Prince Arshakein stared intently at the dozens of people.

"What do you mean?" His brother disagreed, and his father and other brothers also turned to him for an explanation.

"I'm not sure the girl is Gordeganemian." Prince Arshakein responded lightly.

King Meghalodein nodded at his second son's reasonable opinion. Although the girl was a slave, they should not have brought her into such a state.

"Remove the gag from her mouth and bring her here," King Meghalodein ordered.

The leader of the envoys came forward while grabbing the girl's arm, but his steps were stopped by two palace guards. Anyone could not be near the king in person, let alone a Gordeganemian. The girl was taken by the guards and presented to King Meghalodein and his sons.

"Where are you from?" asked the King.

"I am from Gordeganemian, Your Majesty." The girl replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh, yes? What is your name?" Now Prince Shankarein showed his interest openly.

"Arachlea."

Suddenly, Prince Arshakein laughed at this. The girl was lying, what was more interesting was that she was not a child of the commoners. A commoner, let alone a slave, would never dare to open her mouth that wide.

"Tell me, Lady. Do you prefer Prince Hillarius or those Gordeganemian diplomats?" asked Prince Arshakein as he stared intently at the face of the girl opposite him.

The room that had been silent now became a bit noisy, people whispering and arguing about what Prince Arshakein had said. Of course, it was not difficult for Prince Arshakein, he recognized accents and dialects from any part of the world.

The enemy's trusted diplomats should not be so stupid, but perhaps fortune was on Seodurnag's side.

"Guards, compel them to confess." King Meghalodein called out to his guards standing not far from where he sat.

"Yes, Your Majesty." They replied in unison.

The girl who failed to be used stood up in confusion as the guards did not arrest her, but rather shackled the hands of the diplomats behind her.

"How come you are in their hands, Lady?" Prince Shankarein leaned in closer to the girl. "Answer me if you want your twenty attendants to be safe."

"Tsk, what a waste of time, Bro. Father, can we get on with providing free entertainment for the attendees at this party?" Prince Arshakein turned to speak to his father.

"Of course." King Meghalodein shrugged. He whistled to his guards as a signal to move away from the shackled diplomats.

"Isn't the meat on your plate gone, children? It's a pity the knife is no longer in use." King Meghalodein exclaimed. A dozen princes cheered and jumped up from their seats, rushing towards the diplomats with butcher knives in hand.

"Gentlemen. Let's see if my children can use butcher knives properly. You can come closer to inspect them." King Meghalodein exclaimed to the governors and warriors.

The real party began, and the Gordeganemian diplomats had nowhere to run. Cheers and laughter erupted as knives sliced through shirts and stripped uninvited guests naked.

"You can watch it with me too."

Prince Arshakein stuffed a cloth into the mouth of the girl who could no longer move. A rope coiled and snared at lightning speed around the girl's wrists. Prince Arshakein carried her away by pulling on the rope that had been looped around her neck.

A meat feast was taking place in the center of the room. Screams of pain and roars echoed through the vast room. Their masks were removed and revealed the tortured faces of the Gordeganemians.

"I'm afraid I'm not a connoisseur of birds." A soldier threw a piece of meat taken from the groin of the poor diplomat. The governors and princes, finding the piece of meat on the floor, burst into laughter and kicked it around.

Prince Arshakein showed the girl in his arms the fate of the couriers who had brought her here. Many years ago when he was just finishing his teenage years, a party like this had also been held in the halls of the Gordeganemian palace. None of the messengers sent to negotiate returned alive. Only pieces of their bodies were returned.

Gordeganemian had already rejected Seodurnag's peace treaty. Now that his position was on the brink of collapse, new diplomats were sent to beg for mercy.

"There's no entertainment like this in Eufibutla. Ah, I would be so bored if I lived there." Prince Arshakein said in the ear of the girl whose name he forgot, maybe he would ask her again later because he wasn't paying attention. Prince Arshakein was just digesting how the girl's accent was so that he could tell that she was just a hostage victim.

"I almost forgot about this girl, Brother," Prince Shankarein said as he stepped back and noticed the two of them.

"Look at her, Bro. She's an obedient dog, isn't she?" Prince Arshakein smiled wryly, showing off the girl who was restrained with a rope around her neck.

Prince Shankarein laughed at that, "Do you like her?"

"Hmm, of course, I'm just keeping her for you, Bro. It's your share, you can keep her as your concubine later." Prince Arshakein replied.

"You taught me to make a fuss with Prince Hillarius." Prince Shankarein shook his head in amusement.

"Hfffh, hffh." The girl struggled.

"Shhh, shut up. Or do you want to be there too?" whispered Prince Arshakein pulling the rope tighter until the girl coughed and had difficulty breathing.

"Lady, My Brother has many killing skills. So you'd better leave him alone." Prince Shankarein teased.

"Hmm, killing an innocent woman is not my thing. Maybe I just tortured her and made her into a pet," said Prince Arshakein correcting his brother.

***