Goblin Slayer Episode 11

Goblin Slayer Episode 11

A Gathering of Adventurers

The battle to protect Cow Girl’s farm begins in this week’s episode of Goblin Slayer after she refuses to flee despite the impending goblin attack. There are a number of reasons why Cow Girl chooses to stay behind, and while some of them make sense, others don’t.

The only good reason she has for refusing to leave the farm to seek shelter in the nearby town is that she knows Goblin Slayer is going to stay behind and defend the farm despite knowing he can’t win. While this isn’t a good reason from a logical point of view, it makes sense when you think about her relationship with him.

However, the next two reasons make less sense. She claims that if she leaves and the farm is then destroyed, including the livestock, then their family will have nothing. While this is true to an extent, having nothing for a period of time is better than what her fate would be at the hands of the goblins.

This reason also fails to take into consideration that losing everything wouldn’t necessarily be permanent. It should be obvious that Goblin Slayer, and probably his fellow party members, and possibly even other members of the guild, would pitch in and help pay for anything that was lost due to the attack.

But, while the first reason she gives for not wanting to leave is a good one, and the last reason she gave was a terrible one, the middle reason is the one I found most interesting simply because it shows how she thinks of Goblin Slayer. This reason was that she doesn’t want to leave the farm to get destroyed because that would mean Goblin Slayer would lose his home again.

Now, perhaps I’m wrong in assuming this, but I don’t think Goblin Slayer really cares that much about the physical location of the farm. Even if the entire farm were to be burned to the ground, I don’t think it would really matter all that much to him as long as Cow Girl and her uncle are safe.

Yes, he would care because he wouldn’t want Cow Girl to be sad about it, but all that really matters to him is that she’s alive. So, what Cow Girl doesn’t seem to understand is that “home” isn’t a specific location to Goblin Slayer, it’s the people who make a place “home,” and she’s one of those people for him.

Incidentally, her refusal to flee the farm likely saved Goblin Slayer’s life because it forced him to take the defense of the farm more seriously. Had she left, he would have fought the goblins alone until he was overrun and killed, but now he has to make sure no goblins get through to Cow Girl.

The Goblin Menace

The Goblin Slayer we know and love is a man who can take on any number of goblins single-handedly, assuming nothing he’s never heard of before, like an ogre, suddenly appears. So, why is this goblin attack on the farm too much for him to handle alone? Has he gone soft ever since forming a party?

The key to why this battle is so different from any Goblin Slayer has faced before is simply the terrain. Goblin Slayer isn’t just an expert at killing goblins, he’s an expert at laying traps and using the goblin’s own weapons and territory against them.

For example, most of the time goblins can be found within their tunnels, which are perfect for laying traps and funneling large numbers of enemies so that they’re more easily dealt with. However, this battle at the farm is going to cover a vast expanse of open fields, which means the goblins, with their greater numbers, have the advantage.

You can think of Goblin Slayer as the legendary King Leonidas of Sparta fighting against the vast Persian army.

In fact, he even states that despite the vast numbers of goblins. he would undoubtedly be able to defeat them on his own if the battle were happening in the goblin’s tunnels. So, just what does this goblin horde look like?

At the top is the goblin king or lord who commands the rest of the army. Other than having the ability to be an exceptional leader, this goblin lord doesn’t seem to have any other powers, unlike the orc lord from TenSura.

Below the goblin lord are at least two goblin champions, and remember, goblin champions are said to be the equivalent of Platinum-ranked adventurers. If they really are this powerful, then is a goblin lord the equivalent of the demon lord?

Next up we have a horde of hobgoblins, which are essentially the next step up above goblins. And finally, there’s a horde of at least 100 regular goblins, although by regular I simply mean non-hobgoblins, champions, or lords. These “regular” goblins can still be types like riders or shamans.

So, just how is Goblin Slayer going to be able to defeat all of these enemies? With the help of the entire adventurers guild of course!

The Adventurers Strike Back

Since he can’t possibly defend the farm from such a massive goblin horde on his own, Goblin Slayer recruits the rest of the adventurers guild to help him. Interestingly, he doesn’t first go to his usual party for help, but this may perhaps be because he knows they’re going to help anyway.

Instead, he starts by requesting the aid of Spearman and Witch, two other Silver-ranked adventurers with whom Goblin Slayer has had dealings with in the past. While Witch is seemingly indifferent towards him, and Spearman finds him annoying, Goblin Slayer knows these two are strong and dependable.

After briefly refusing to help Goblin Slayer without payment, Spearman and Witch agree to help him for the cost of a drink. After these two, High Elf, Dwarf, and Lizardman join in, and once the Guild Girl offers one gold coin for every goblin slain, the rest of the adventurers join in as well, including Female Knight and Heavy Swordsman (the two other “named” Silver-ranks).

Finally, Priestess appears and tells Goblin Slayer that she’s going to help as well, but I don’t think that was ever really a question, of course she was going to help, just like the rest of their party.

Goblin Slayer from the anime Goblin Slayer
Goblin Slayer

Upon arriving at the farm, Goblin Slayer explains his plan of defense to the rest of the adventurers. The first step is to rescue the women being used as meat shields from the goblins so the rest of the defense can begin in earnest.

Once this is done, the magic casters will focus on defending a portion of the offensive adventurers who now begin to push back against the goblins. Meanwhile, other adventurers lie in wait to ambush the goblin riders with spears once they appear.

While all of this is happening, Goblin Slayer goes off into the nearby forest on his own to hunt down and kill the goblin lord who’s commanding the enemy army. In the next and final episode of the season, the fight between these two will officially be underway.

But, before I end for today, let me briefly talk about my predictions for this final fight between Goblin Slayer and the goblin lord. The fight is set up to be a duel between these two, but I don’t really feel like that would make sense for Goblin Slayer’s story.

The author, Kumo Kagyuu, has stated in an interview that while Goblin Slayer is the adventurer we follow in this story, it’s not his story. In fact, just as Goblin Slayer himself points out, he’s not a hero. But, wouldn’t defeating the goblin lord on his own be a heroic act?

This is why I think that although the plan was for Goblin Slayer to do this on his own, his allies will come to back him up and his party will end up working together to bring down the goblin lord. It doesn’t even have to be his whole party, it could just be Priestess, or even another adventurer like Spearman.

However, whoever comes to Goblin Slayer’s aid isn’t really what’s important. What’s important is that no one adventurer is the hero of this story (except for the actual heroes). And, now that I think of it, perhaps the hero who defeated the demon lord will appear to save the day.

Conclusion

As always, what are your thoughts on this week’s episode of Goblin Slayer? Do you think Cow Girl should have abandoned the farm? Do you think Goblin Slayer will single-handedly defeat the goblin lord? Let me know what you think in the comments.

If you enjoyed this post then be sure to click the like button ❤ down below. And, remember to follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama to stay up to date with all of my upcoming content. These next two weeks are going to be crazy, so Twitter is the best way to keep from missing out on content.

And, finally, if you’d like to help support DoubleSama.com while also getting some benefits at the same time, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama for more details.

My review of the final episode of Goblin Slayer is available here.

Leave a Comment