Light Novel Volume 11

'''Goblin Slayer! Volume 11' is the eleventh light novel of the Goblin Slayer'' series.

Official Synopsis
Summer is here, and Female Merchant pays Goblin Slayer and his party an unexpected visit at their usual tavern to make them a proposal. Her next trade route will take her through the vast eastern desert where goblins now run rampant, and she would like the party to escort her. They accept her request, and the group promptly sets out for the arid eastern borderlands with its different cultures, vicious traps, harsh climate, and shadowy desert figures. How will our heroes fare in this unforgiving foreign territory...?

Chapters

 * Pause: A Rogue's Run
 * Chapter 1: A Pounding Heart
 * Chapter 2: Freeway Warrior
 * Interlude: Mud and Stars and Captives
 * Chapter 3: Choose Your Own Adventure
 * Interlude: The Great Game Master's Scene
 * Chapter 4: The Anastasis from Gehenna
 * Interlude: Princess of Persia
 * Chapter 5: Goblin Slayer in the Country of Sand
 * Interlude: No Hit No Run
 * Chapter 6: Never Ever Cut a Deal With a Dragon
 * Chapter 7: One Jump Ahead
 * Pause: A New Hope

Pause
In the Desert Kingdom, the Shadow Runner team led by The Spy leads a chase out of the castle with two girls, an Elf and Rhea, from Goblin Riders. Changeling users her powers to make it rain so Driver's kelpie spirit can go faster and get the girls to safety as contracted.

Chapter 1
At the Guild, Goblin Slayer’s party continues their usual revelry as Club Fighter, Supreme God’s Cleric, and Harefolk Hunter return from their first Goblin Hunt victorious but very dirty, much to Goblin Slayer’s approval. Scout Boy and Druid Girl prepare to celebrate with them as Harefolk Hunter tells Priestess that Female Merchant had arrived requesting her assistance as her bodyguards, against Goblins in the Desert Kingdom to the East

During the meeting, Guild Girl explains the delicate situation with the Desert Kingdom, the relationship with them is “Not Good”, there is no Adventure’s Guild, and Novice ranked Adventurers like Priestess’s Steel Rank, cannot accept the mission. However, Guild Girl uses the loophole that Female Merchant requested her specifically, to initiate a promotion review for Priestess, to Sapphire Rank, the middle ranks.

With this, Priestess and Female Merchant were directed to Spearman and Witch to get advice about the Desert Kingdom much to his annoyance and her joy. Still the two happily gave all their knowledge to the two young ladies. Goblin Slayer however, returned to the Farm of Cow Girl and went through the books he got from Arc Mage to prepare for his new mission. Cow Girl was interested and encouraged him to “adventure” as she helped prepare him for his journey.

Chapter 2
Goblin Slayer's party escorts Female Merchant and her carriages to the Eastern Boarder and after passing the checkpoint thanks to Lizard Priest's acquaintance the Female General. As the party prepares the carriages for sand traversal, High Elf Archer shows off her "desert attire" and is able to help them avoid some desert bandits disguised as soldiers at a checkpoint.

Immediately afterward, the carriages are attacked by a small group of warg mounted Goblins, who try to spring a trap on the group but fail. High Elf Archer is able to realize the Goblins are suspiciously well equipped and thus give the party more trouble then they normally would. The Goblins are able to lead the party's horses into a quicksand trap, but Priestess, having learned about quicksand from Spearman and Witch, uses her "Purify" Miracle to create a spring beneath the Goblins and sink them into the quicksand instead. Dwarf Shaman is able to uses his wind sprites to save the horses and help them continue their journey.

Interlude
The Elf maid of the Desert Princess curses her rotten luck after being dropped off by The Spy and his team; her mission to find a Knight outside the capital to help rescue the Desert Princess from the corrupted Vizier. Having argued with her Rhea friend about how to go about their secret mission to help the Princess, they separated, got captured by kidnappers together, had said kidnappers attacked by thieves! While she laments her terrible situation, her Rhea friend returns her stolen amulet for her as the devise their next course of action.

Chapter 3
Back in the Desert, the Goblin Slayer Party come upon a seemingly abandoned village and investigate only to find everyone dead, victims of a freak and sudden sandstorm. The extra carriage rider the party brought loses his mind to heatstroke and runs off with the spare carriage of supplies right into another sandstorm to his doom. The Party is able to take refuge in the abandoned buildings until the morning when they discover a school of giant Sand Manta. Still low on supplies, the Party manage to flag down a desert ship of Myrmidon hunters hunting the Sand Manta who's Captain, agrees to give them aid.

On the Ship, the Myrmidon Captain gives the Party some supplies as well as information of the current state of the Desert Kingdom and how the Prime Minister has taken over the Kingdom after the King died mysteriously and appears to have the Princess captive. He takes them close to the Capital and gives Goblin Slayer some life advice, sensing that he is "lost", and encourages him to accept his role as the party's leader for future adventure. As the Myrmidon Captain bids them farewell, he remembers his days as an adventurer as the Myrmidon Monk from Sword Maiden's Gold Ranked Party and wishes the party luck on their quest.

Interlude
In the Water Town, the silver-haired maid of The King goes to a bar run by the Guild of Rogues where she talks to the Hairfolk Waitress about the current state of business. During the conversation, she reveals the Kingdom actually have extended a hand to the Desert Princess to help liberate her and put her into power of her Kingdom. However, given the Kingdom can't get involve in the open, Sword Maiden and Female Merchant helped the King by recruiting Goblin Slayer to take care of the Goblin infestation there while Silver-Haired Maid prepares the Shadow Runners for Phase 2 of the plan.

Chapter 4
In the Desert Kingdom, Priestess, High Elf Archer, and Female Merchant finish up in a sauna and devise a plan about their current situation and split into two groups. Priestess goes to find Goblin Slayer at a bar called "The Golden Mirage", but on her way, almost gets in a fight with a Dark Elf running a guard scam but it aided by Changeling who actually is heading to the same bar as she is. Together, Priestess and Changeling enjoy a bird-girl dancer's show and see The Spy break up a fight, returning a stolen sword to a kid before Spy and Changeling leave Priestess. Seeing their strong partnership and ease at which they talk to each other, Priestess begins to feel envy that she doesn't have that type of relationship with her partner Goblin Slayer.

In the back of the Golden Mirage, Goblin Slayer is dealing with the bar owners and getting the information needed for his current mission revealing the bar is a front for the Guild of Rogues. Reuniting with Priestess, Goblin Slayer sees her self-uncertainty and, in his own weird way, that she's a valued member of his party. With this, Priestess reaffirms her desire to continue growing and becoming someone her fellow adventurers can rely on. As they leave the Golden Mirage, Priestess jokingly wonders if their next step is to go to the castle which Goblin Slayer denies.

Interlude
In the Castle, the Desert Princess confronts the Prime Minister about the horrible sight he had shown her earlier and she condemns said act as an atrocity. The Prime Minister retorts that the Desert Kingdom needs to embrace the Force of Chaos over Order as he feels Order has failed their Kingdom and mainly pushes a lot of the blame unto the Castle Guard Captain. He even admits he'd have killed her to solidify his rule over the Desert Kingdom if he wasn't afraid of an eventual rebellion without her presence.

Sadly, Desert Princess is unable to retort as she reveals he life-force is bound to a magic hourglass and thus cannot escape for help. However, she silently reaffirms to herself that her ladies in waiting, the Elf Maid and Rhea Maid, had escaped to find help thanks to her pet rat sneaking them a message. However, the Prime Minister revealed he was well aware of her scheme of sending her maids out to find her help and was currently searching for them to bring their heads to her. With this, Desert Princess begins to lose hope and tries to keep her head held high and hope.

Chapter 5
Back with the party, Goblin Slayer and co approach the fortress that the Golden Mirage Rogues informed Goblin Slayer about and they devise a plan to enter. High Elf Archer makes it clear she, Priestess, and Female Merchant will not be pretending to be slave girls again to help infiltrate despite the other two admitting they don't exactly mind. Before entering, Goblin Slayer looks over a map he got from the Golden Mirage Rogues (which he destroys as he promised them) and the map he got from Myrmidon Monk and forms a plan. With this, Female Merchant enters the fortress with her merchant card and a Dragontooth Warrior hidden in a cloak; inside she wears a perfume meant to intoxicate the guards along with tons of drugged treats and drinks. With the guards dazed, she and the Dragontooth Warrior incapacitate the guards while High Elf Archer leads the others into a side area.

Inside, the party avoids traps and gets into a small skirmish with some Goblins which lead them to a Goblin breeding prison. Priestess casts Silence and Dwarf Shaman casts Stupor on the room so Goblin Slayer and the others can swiftly kill all the Goblins. The party saves as many women as possible, but they note that some are too far gone, but manage to regroup with Female Merchant and give the girls to the Dragoontooth Warrior who is instructed to take the tortured women to salvation as they cause a distraction with the perfume. Female Merchant rewards the Dragontooth Warrior with a kiss for all "his" efforts and instructs "him" to procure a sand ship when he gets the women to safety.

Down in the dungeons, the Goblins, angry that their slave women were taken, and led by a slightly larger than normal Goblin leads a revolt against the guards. During the revolt, the Goblins are distracted by Female Merchant's intoxicating perfume and give chase for the party instead of the escaped slave girls. The larger Goblin splinters off and steals a map from the Captain of the Guard. As they begin overwhelming the fortress, the Party leads them up the fortress, all the while pretending to be medics "taking injured to safety". At the top of the fortress, a violent sandstorm erupts thanks to a school Sand Manta swarming close to the fortress. Goblin Slayer then instructs the party to jump on the Manta school as Dwarf Shaman cast Falling Control allowing them to gently float down on the Sand Manta to the Sand Ship the Dragontooth Warrior procured.

As they escape, Priestess begins healing and tending to the rescued women and the party comes upon a small rock outcropping with some greenery and a cave with the strong smell of sulfur. Concerned that a demon is close by, the party takes defensive precautions, but realize the sulfur smell is far too strong and presence of daylight to be just a random demon. Much to their shock, the larger Goblin comes exploding out of the cave riding on the back of a Red Dragon!

Interlude
A few minutes earlier, the Desert Captain of the fortress laments his bad luck and directs his rage at home no one seems to understand what he's doing for the sake of the Desert Kingdom. He remembers his plan to start breeding Goblins with slaves, leaving the "used" and "expired" one for food, and arming the Goblins to create a near infinite army for the Desert Kingdom, the idea was sheer brilliance to him, however, his boss the Prime Minister was disgusted by the idea as well as the Princess when they came to inspect his plans. Even his own men began to hate him which only further cemented his plans to betray the Prime Minister, force Desert Princess into marriage and become King and wage war with the Western Kingdom as he was certain the Western Merchant Woman he invited to the fortress had caused the recent revolt. However, as he planned to deal with the rebelling Goblins, he first returned to his office to find his map, but he is interrupted by The Spy who kills him with a shot to the head from his pistol.

The Spy, Changeling, and Knowledge Cleric confirm the success of their hit and begin searching the office for the papers they were hired to get, a set of castle and capital city floor plans filled with the locations of traps, secret passages, as well as hidden treasures. As the trio of Rogues debate whether it was the family of one of the slave girls or someone "higher up" that put the hit on the Captain, they take the body out pretending to be escorting out wounded but pass a motley party on the stairs going up. Changeling takes notice of a certain priestess she met earlier in town and silently prays for her success. However, the trio realize with a large boom that Goblin Slayer had somehow summoned an entire school of Sand Manta to facilitate his escape and Spy loudly chastises the man's methods as they escape through the front door.

Chapter 6
As the Red Dragon rampages, the Goblin begins cackling madly with glee believing he is in control of the mighty beast, but Lizard Priest reveals the Goblin merely disturbed the Dragon's hibernation and it was very cranky and lashing out. He then warns that if they don't slay the dragon or get it back to sleep before it fully wakes up, the Dragon will kill the Goblin, them, and eat the rescued women!

Goblin Slayer, Female Merchant, and High Elf Archer begin a plan; Female Merchant casts her Lightning spell as Goblin Slayer throws his sword at the Goblin and High Elf Archer tries to keep the Dragon pinned with her arrows. The plan fails spectacularly forcing the trio to scramble, and as the Dragon prepares a breath attack, Lizard priest calls upon the Dilophosaur to perform a breath attack of his own as Priestess shields him with Protection. Lizard Priest then calls upon the Brontosaur to give him super strength and hold the Dragon down as High Elf Archer causes its next breath attack to back fire on itself. Goblin Slayer, Dwarf Shaman, and Female Merchant then form a plan with Priestess; Female Merchant fires Lightning at a bottle of gasoline Priestess throws at the Dragon while Goblin Slayer steals a magic sword and uses it to kill the Goblin. With this, Dwarf Shaman is finally able to cast Sleep on the Dragon without fear of the Goblin waking it up again.

Victorious and exhausted, the party collapses and wonders aloud if this makes them "Dragon Slayers" now, but Dwarf Shaman corrects High Elf Archer that this technically makes them "Dragon Sleepers" much to her annoyance. Lizard Priest laughs at the sheer amazing events that transpired with Goblins all the way to Dragons. Priestess and Female Merchant state they'll take a day to stay in town and do nothing but take a bath all day before they both drift off to sleep. Goblin Slayer however, picks up a red scale from the dragon as a souvenir for Cow Girl and refuses to take any of the Dragon's treasure out of fear it'll someday summon the Dragon. All the while, Goblin Slayer feels that his feeling of "being lost" has finally been shaken thanks to the battle with the Dragon

Chapter 7
Back in the Frontier Town, Guild Girl and Cow Girl debate on how the Party's adventure in the Desert Kingdom; wondering and fascinating about the Djinn, Magic Carpets, and such. Cow Girl even mentions that Goblin Slayer had sent back a Camel to the Farm as well as instructions on how to take care of it surprising even Guild Girl.

As Guild Girl gets back to work, Cow Girl notices she is getting ready for a promotion review; Priestess's promotion to be accurate. She lets it slip that Priestess most certainly has the has the experience points needed and that all Priestess really needs is faith in herself. Cow Girl feels happy for Priestess and goes home to wait for Goblin to return.

Pause
In a farm in the Desert Kingdom, Elf maid continues to lament her bad luck at getting help for her Princess as she and her Rhea friend are now bought slaves of an older Farmer and his nephew. At the same time, she curses how an Elf like her of nobility, who has served generations of Desert Kingdom Human royalty has been reduced to this state. She does count her luck that the farmer and his nephew seem like nice people, but she still has no idea what to do for her Princess.

The Nephew enters their room and questions her about his missing Uncle; to which she replies that he stepped out after a stranger came to the farm and gave him a cylindrical message. Troubled by this, the young man leaves the room and retrieves an old but beautiful curved sword, one he explained was an heirloom his family long ago had to seal away. As Elf Maid begins to brush this off, her amulet begins to magically resonate with the sword, causing it to glow bluish-white and emit a slight thrum. Seeing this, Elf Maid throws herself at his feet begging him to help her and Rhea Maid save the Desert Princess from the Prime Minister. The young man states that he is a "Knight like his father before him" and begins his journey with the Maids into the Desert of Chaos to save Desert Princess

In their Sacred Realm, the Old Gods, including Truth and Illusion became ecstatic at the beginning of this new Adventurer's journey styling this as the beginning of a "New Hope" for the Desert Kingdom and prepare to watch this campaign unfold.

Trivia

 * While famous for it's many references, Volume 11 has quite a few references to fantasy pop culture including "Star Wars: A New Hope" and "Prince of Persia" as well as references to classic Arabian Fantasy.