Goblin Lord

"First... we take the farm to the east. There, we eat their livestock, use their women to build our numbers. There, we prepare to attack. Perhaps the adventurers have gotten wind of us and shall meet us there. But we outnumber them! We are an army! Mere adventurers will not stop us! Look alive! And bring them down!"

- Goblin Lord's battle speech

Goblin Lord (ゴブリンロード, Goburinrōdo) was a goblin and a major antagonist in Volume 1.

Beginning as a wanderer, the Goblin Lord's resourcefulness and charisma have allowed him to survive several encounters with adventurers and develop into a formidable goblin capable of commanding a large goblin horde.

According to Goblin Slayer, he is considered platinum-ranked among other goblins.

Appearance
The Goblin Lord is taller than normal goblins and far more muscular, having lived and grown over the years. He has a goatee and wears a crown, a cloak, and armor. He wields a high grade double headed battle axe engraved with a lion, a weapon taken from a dead barbarian.

Personality
Having lived a long life, the Goblin Lord fancies himself as being far more cunning and intelligent that the other Goblins in his forces. To that end, he is willing to sacrifice them for the sake of getting away, knowing he can grow even more clever and resourceful over time.

However, despite his ambition and position as a leader of goblins, he does not care about the others of his kind and views them as dispensable resources. As such, like every goblin, he prioritizes his personal preservation above all else. He loathes begging for his life and bending a knee to others, especially to humans, and only uses it as a means of getting the upper-hand.

Background
When Goblin Lord was a small child, his nest was killed by a female adventurer and he begged her to spare his life. She did so on the agreement of never doing anything evil again, but the moment she turned her back he knocked her over the head with a rock and then killed her. As years pass, he became more resourceful and brutal, and became a wanderer after then.

A few more years later, a barbarian massacred his horde, prompting him to rush to the cave and hold one of the women the goblins raped hostage. This made the barbarian pause for the moment, enabling the Goblin Lord to kill the barbarian and the woman. The Goblin Lord triumphantly howled as he brandished the barbarian's axe, which soon became his signature weapon.

From then on he joined many nests, surviving attacks and growing stronger and wiser where the others died, until he eventually came to rule over a large force of Goblins.

Goblin Slayer Volume 1
The Goblin Lord had assembled an army of at least 100 goblins, with the intention of using the farm where Cow Girl stayed as a beach-head to attack the town. However, his forces were stopped by an entire guild of adventurers hired by Guild Girl on a large reward and under instructions given by Goblin Slayer. In the resulting one-sided battle, every strategy the Goblin Lord unleashed was countered until he was left with only Goblin Champions to buy himself time to escape.

As he fled, he intended to rebuild his forces using the women at his nest. At the same time, when Goblin Slayer intercepted him, he informed the Goblin Lord that his nest had already been destroyed and both had used their armies as a distraction for their own activities. A duel commenced as the Goblin Lord gained the upper-hand until he was trapped between two barriers by Priestess, as planned by Goblin Slayer. As a last resort, he tried to convince them that his status as Lord made it possible for him to stop being evil, sure that his fake tears would inspire pity in the two adventurers. However, Goblin Slayer simply denounced him as a mere goblin, before killing the Goblin Lord.

Abilities

 * Enhanced Intelligence: The Goblin Lord held the ability to plan and command his forces through intellect it gained over time, making it formidable and ambitious.
 * Above-Average Strength: The Goblin Lord could brandish a large axe to use as a weapon and fight Goblin Slayer to a standstill.
 * Multi-lingual: The Goblin Lord is capable of speaking goblin and the common tongue, but despises using the latter.

Equipment

 * Double-sided Axe: His signature weapon is a double-sided axe, capable of decapitating his fellow goblins and uses it to hold his ground against Goblin Slayer.

Trivia

 * The Goblin Lord obtaining his axe from the barbarian is an event exclusive to the manga.