Goblins. Are on vacation for a short time this volume, but not to worry. Volume 3, coming in at six chapters, from chapters 10 to 15, will have plenty of time to bring them back so we can add their skulls to the pile.
In this volume, the most unthinkable happens. A goblin horde is coming for Cow Girl’s farm and they’re intent on their usual. Murder and rape. Thankfully, Goblin Slayer lives at the farm between missions, so he manages to find the tracks, but that’s skipping ahead.
Chapter 10 opens with Goblin Slayer at the farm, taking a break. He is without his gear for once, though the manga always keeps his face out of view. He hads back into town, gets his armor back, and helps Cow Girl make deliveries to the Guild, in the form of food. He also meets up with Priestess and the rest of the party. Priestess has advanced to Obsidian rank thanks to the Ogre fight, while the rest of the party were already Silver rank, like Goblin Slayer. Showing further character development, it seems like Goblin Slayer considered that Ogre fight to be a complete waste of time and resources… until he sees his companion has advanced a rank thanks to it. It is only then he says the fight had meaning after all.
High Elf Archer also tries to make good on her promise in volume 2, asking Goblin Slayer to go on an adventure. She doesn’t even mention goblins at all, but Goblin Slayer promises to think on it. Before, he probably would have refused, but I appreciate this sense of character growth. We also get to see how Guild Girl and Cow Girl worry about Goblin Slayer, to the point where Guild Girl straight up tells Goblin Slayer that if he doesn’t focus on his recovery and allows himself to be driven to exhaustion, again, she’ll ban him from taking quests for six months, which he admits would be a problem.
Unfortunately, the good times end here, as Chapter 11 opens with danger aplenty. Goblin Slayer has found the goblin tracks near the farm and advises Cow Girl and her uncle to abandon it. Cow Girl is, after all, the only other survivor from his village and he doesn’t want to lose her. When she refuses to flee, Goblin Slayer is forced to do something drastic. He pleads the Guild for help. He’s going to need an army at his back to stop this invasion.
Initially, he’s turned down. This, I must admit, disgusted me. This farm is, at the least, a source of a lot of the Adventurer’s Guild’s food. Twice now, we’ve seen this farm make large deliveries of food to the Guild. In most guilds, when a guild’s assets, or allies, are threatened, it’s members can, and should, be called upon to protect them.
Not that he doesn’t have allies in this. The party immediately agrees to help. Spearman, finally, agrees to help when he realizes how serious Goblin Slayer is when he offers everything he owns, even his life, as a reward. The scene even gets a little needed humor when Lizard Priest agrees to help, but when Goblin Slayer mentioned a reward, Goblin Slayer is quick to point out this farm is where the cheese he so likes is made, so he’s quite happy to protect it. Even Witch is willing to help, but the other adventurers are hesitant. Until Guild Girl offers an update on goblins; one gold coin per head, for this quest. Suddenly, the entire Guild is up to slaughtering goblins.
But this is no ordinary horde of goblins, Goblin Slayer notes. There is a Goblin Lord among them, the equivalant of a Platinum adventurer. He would be no pushover.
Chapters 12 through 15 is the defense of the farm. And it’s really hard to sum up, but I’ll try.
When the goblin army first appears, they have ‘meat shields’. Large wooden doors with naked, bound women of varying races tied to them. This is to prevent the adventurers from attacking with bows or magic and shows of the goblins’ cowardly nature. Once again, the goblins are being shown as capable of horrid atrocities, that leaves even the Silver ranked among the adventurers stunned at their cruelty. You can see many of these adventurers wondering if goblins are really as low a threat as they thought.
But the adventurers are undeterred. Any Dungeons & Dragons fan could tell you that you don’t underestimate a wizard. A combination spell from some mages and Dwarf Shaman, Sleep and Stupor, puts all these goblins on the ground, snoring or groggy from alcohol. A group of adventurers rush in, ignoring the goblins in favor of rescuing the women. Goblin shamans come in, wanting to use some of their own magic, but they failed to notice High Elf Archer, and a number of other archers, hiding in the trees, who do not hesitate to pelt the shamans dead with arrows.
Occasionally, the scene cuts back to a goblin scout reporting to the Goblin Lord, who is getting more and more impatient with his attack on this ‘tiny, insignificant farm’ failing so horribly.
Next comes the infantry charge. Lead by Spearman and Lizard Priest, many goblins are being slain. And when goblin archers try to counter attack, Witch and a number of spellcasters are right behind the cavalry, using Protection miracles to protect the infantry.
Finally, the goblins seem to have a good idea, as they use mounted cavalry, goblins on war wolves, at the flanks. Thankfully, the defenders left more people at those flanks, not in combat, to defend the flanks. And they’re prepared for this, as the wolves charge right in, not seeing their foes have large spears for a spear wall on the ground, just for this occasion. Goblin Slayer may not have appeared, but his knowledge is showing all over this battle and the adventurers are winning because of his expertise. It’s enough to leave even the previously skeptical Heavy Warrior and Female Knight admitting the man really is a Silver ranked adventurer.
Of course, the adventurers do suffer some losses. Two foolish adventurers follow the goblins when they run, seperating the two from the rest. And that’s when we’re introduced to the Goblin Champions. Goblins’ own veteran warriors, I would equate them to being their Silver ranks. While the Silvers go to meet them, we cut to Spearman and Witch, taking a short break, Spearman asking where Goblin Slayer is. The answer? Slaying goblins.
We cut to the Goblin Lord, who has figured out they’re being routed and is fleeing back to his hideout, to rebuild his forces. We get some flashbacks to his past, the people he’s killed, the women he’s conquered, the Barbarian he killed for his massive axe. Only for his escape to be cut off. Goblin Slayer is here and Goblin Lord’s home has been destroyed.
We cut back to the Silvers and the Goblin Champions briefly, to watch them win handily, before we’re back to Goblin Slayer. The fight starts and, at first, it seems like Goblin Slayer’s wounds are slowing him down. He manages to get some telling hits in, his sword breaking off in Goblin Lord’s stomach, but Goblin Lord manages to bar Goblin Slayer away and destroy his shield. Just when it appears Goblin Lord is winning, though, stomping Goblin Slayer literally into the ground, all the while cackling about how he’ll torture and kill Goblin Slayer. But Goblin Slayer shows no fear and no notice, but just when Goblin Lord is about to finish him off, he is stopped by Priestess’ Protection wall. Goblin Lord is, of course, distracted by a woman. He cackles and calls about the things he’d do to her, but Priestess just traps Goblin Lord between two walls of Protection, essentially starting to crush Goblin Lord like a bug. He continues to thrash and scream of the despicable things he’d do to Priestess, in goblin language.
Finally, he speaks in human language, Common. He begs and pleads for his life, saying he’ll change, he’ll never come back, all the while planning on caving Priestess’ skull in the moment she drops her spells. We get a quick series of flashbacks to other women who had let him go, how he’d defile and kill them all. That’s when Goblin Slayer stands up. He’d been faking unconsciousness to get Goblin Lord to let his guard down so Priestess could strike. And with that, Goblin Slayer uses his broken sword to take Goblin Lord’s head. The battle ends with Priestess healing Goblin Slayer and him admitting he acted as bait like he did because he trusts Priestess.
Cut to the Guild, where there’s a banquet being held for the Guild’s victory over the goblins. The farm is safe, the town is safe, and almost everyone survived. The Silvers now have a new understanding that goblins are a bigger threat than they thought, a poor Porcelain rank gets drunk under the table by Dwarf Shaman, and Goblin Slayer is officially considering being a proper adventurer, not just going after goblins. Everyone gets paid and Priestess asks Goblin Slayer why he asked for help. He admits no one came for his village and he had no guarantee anyone would help now. But he didn’t want to lose his home again to goblins, so he stepped out on faith (they say luck in the manga). Priestess reminds him she would always say yes, telling him she believes everyone in town would help him, especially now. Finally, she asks for a reward of her own; she wants him to take off his helmet. She’s never seen his face, after all. Suffice to say, when he does, turns out the entire city hasn’t seen him without his helmet. Everyone’s freaking out, trying to see him. The only person totally calm is Cow Girl, who’s the only person present that’s seen his face before. Turns out there was even a betting pool on Goblin Slayer’s identity. Man, woman, human, elf, etc.
We end with a closeup of the bottom half of Goblin Slayer’s face, with him considering Priestess’ words and hoping they’re true. Maybe, just maybe, there’s a place for him at the Adventurer’s Guild after all.
Now, I have to admit that I’d read Goblin Slayer volumes 1 and 2 long before now, but I just read volume 3 for the first time and it was another really good volume. I really enjoy the growth of the characters, especially Goblin Slayer, who it seems wasn’t as much a loner as he didn’t have anyone he trusted to have his back. And a chance encounter with Priestess set events in motion that would help him regain trust in people. Another really good volume, with the usual recommendations.
Highly Recommended, for people okay with it’s extreme content
Not Recommended, for people who don’t like the content
Not Recommended, for children
The Professional Protagonist 