Light Novel Volume 5

'''Goblin Slayer! Volume 5''' is the fifth novel of the Goblin Slayer series.

Official Synopsis
''A young noblewoman has disappeared while out on a goblin hunting quest. When Goblin Slayer and his part set out to find her, they are stunned to discover a horde of goblins have built their nest within an ancient dwarven fortress...and these ones even appear to be followers of some primitive, sadistic cult! But what troubles Goblin Slayer most of all is their leader, who is stronger and more intelligent than any goblin he's faced before...''

- Yen Press

Chapters

 * Chapter 1: Tutorial
 * Chapter 2: Mass Combat
 * Chapter 3: Hack and Slash
 * Chapter 4: Rebuild
 * Interlude: Of Those Who Were waiting
 * Chapter 5: Dungeon Raid
 * Chapter 6: Goblin's Crown
 * Interlude: Of the Gods Breathing a Sigh of Relief
 * Chapter 7: After Session - a New Dawn

Chapter 1
A party of Adventurers, which included Noble Fencer, Half-Elf Fighter, a Rhea scout, a Human Wizard, and a Dwarf Monk battle against Goblins in a snowy environment. After defeating the group of goblins that attacked them, they set their sights on an underground cave located near the mountains, which also acted as a goblin nest.

Chapter 2
Back at the city, a letter arrives from Sword Maiden to Goblin Slayer; in it, she gives her thanks for Goblin Slayer since she no longer has nightmares of goblins. It was written with such passion that both High Elf Archer and Priestess compared it to a love letter much to Goblin Slayer's obliviousness. The letter goes on to address the main issue: to find and help Noble Fencer if she is alive, or recover her personal belongings or remains if she is dead. It asks for "the most reliable, high-ranked Adventurers". Since it involved Goblins, Goblin Slayer's party accepted the quest.

While traveling on the winter road to the northern village, all but Goblin Slayer and Dwarf Shaman are suffering from the cold. Goblin Slayer suggested that there was a great chance that the girl was alive, but none of them thought that she would come out unscathed given that Goblins definitely do not kill their female hostages during Winter, but keep them alive all Winter for breeding as the Goblins hunker down for the season. Goblin Slayer and his party arrived at the village and discover that it was being pillaged by goblins. After killing the Goblins, they learn that the Goblins had gathered all the hostages into one area, and the corpses of the villagers appeared unmolested, which aroused Goblin Slayer's suspicion.

The party of adventurers asked for a map, and the villagers gave them a map of parchment. They went to the tavern to rest, but realize that because another group of adventurers bought up their supplies, only potato meals were available. After learning more about the previous adventurers, Goblin Slayer deduces that the other adventurers intended to starve out the goblins. Since the party didn't know how many enemies there were or if the other adventurers were still alive, Goblin Slayer announces that they will blitz the nest.

Chapter 3
Leaving the village at dawn, Goblin Slayer's party set out to infiltrate the goblin cave in the mountains. After concluding that there were only regular goblins, the Adventurers use Priestess' Holy Light to their advantage to slay them. High Elf Archer suffered an arrow to her thigh during the fight, in a similar manner to the broken arrowhead trick that Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer used earlier. Concerned with the speed of how quickly these Goblins learned this, Goblin Slayer checks and confirms the arrow was not poisoned. Despite High Elf Archer's fears of the pain, she accepts the "battlefield surgery" needs to happen and after some effort, the Party manages to take out the arrowhead and heal her wound.

While examining the cave, the party concluded that it was once a chapel where human sacrifices were offered. A naked and dirtied woman is found in the middle of the altar, who turned out to be Noble Fencer, the young woman they were tasked to find. After they discover that her neck was branded, Goblin Slayer believes it is meant to symbolize the Green Moon, the supposed origin of Goblins. Priestess though further explains the brand is also the the symbol of the God of Wisdom, not to be confused with the God of Knowledge, a God that indiscriminately grants sudden and great inspiration that the victim can't help but act upon. Goblin Slayer deduces that their enemy is a Goblin Paladin, an extraordinarily rare and dangerous Goblin variant.

Chapter 4
At the village inn, Noble Fencer dreams of the series of mistakes that led to her unfortunate capture. Her party had blocked the exits out of the cave and camped near the entrance, intending on starving the goblins and ambushing them when they went to get resources. The party killed a few groups of goblins attempting to break through their barriers, but spent much of their resources trying to sustain themselves in a cold environment. Becoming disgruntled, Noble Fencer's party blamed her for their lack of success, accused her of being afraid of getting her hands dirty in the cave. Noble Fencer went back to the village to gather resources, but the dissatisfied villagers refused to give any more than a few trifles. Upon returning to the camp, she found herself ambushed by a group of goblins, becoming horrified upon seeing them hold the severed heads of each of her party members and having captured Half-Elf Fighter. Attempting to draw her sword, she realized that the snow within its scabbard had frozen into ice, which allowed the goblins to quickly surround and assault her.

Once Noble Fencer wakes up, Goblin Slayer asks her a series of questions about the goblins she faced, before learning of her plan to starve them out. As he leaves, she asks if he is the famous "Goblin Slayer" she has heard so much about, to which he confirms that is what everyone calls him. Going through her thins, she finds her dagger and forms a plan.

After Goblin Slayer's party had their meal, Goblin Slayer told them the goblins' main habitation was not the chapel they had raided, but an old Dwarven fortress above the chapel. Knowing that conventional infiltration was not a viable option, the party decided they would disguise themselves as members of the Evil Sect to infiltrate the fortress. Lizard Priest comes up with the plan that he would be the "Evil Priest", Goblin Slayer would be his "Dark Knight", and "Dwarf Shaman his "Dwarven Mercenary". High Elf Archer gets excited about a "real adventure" and plans on disguising herself as a "Dark Elf" saying it would be better than stinking herself up to hide from the Goblins.

Noble Fencer enters the room, while emotionally unstable, declares that she would accompany them, despite High Elf Archer's objection. The rest of the Party however notes she'll never recover from her grief, rage, and everything else if they do not allow her to confront her attackers. Once the party agreed to take her along, Noble Fencer cut off her pigtails and gave them as a reward for the time being.

Interlude
Back at the Guild, Cow Girl enters and takes note that Winter has most certainly come to the Frontier Tow as she brushes off snow from her clothes. She then takes not of all the Adventurers that seem to be hunkering down for the Winter, admitting that Winter travel is indeed difficult, but also noting that there are some ruins filled with treasure that only open in the Winter and that some creatures of the Forces of Chaos don't hibernate. Still, she accepts that if a Party is not suited for Winter traversal, it's probably best they sat Winter out.

As she talks with Guild Girl, Spearman and Witch enter the Guild, Spearman complaining about how difficult their latest Quest was. Even Cow Girl couldn't help but admit how beautiful Witch was, even in her Winter fashion as Spearman strolled up to Guild Girl. Cow Girl wishes Guild Girl luck, With Guild Girl admitting she doesn't "hate" Spearman, it's just he's not her "favorite". Cow Girl reassures her that Goblin Slayer will be back by New Years, and tells her not to worry.

Chapter 5
The party makes their way toward the fortress with the male Adventurers disguised as Evil Sect members and the female Adventurers as prisoners in a cage, something High Elf Archer is not happy about. Lizard Priest is enjoying his "evil role" a little too much as he and Dwarf Shaman have a bit of a laugh at High Elf Archer's annoyance. Goblin Slayer, however, explains that the Goblins won't believe the Evil Sect bringing male prisoners, and he basically tells her to buck up. High Elf Archer tries to get Priestess to show some back bone, but Priestess admits she's used to this and the plan is sound. Dwarf Shaman hands them warm Salamander eggs to keep them warm, and Goblin Slayer hands everyone a Breath Ring.

With the help of his Communicate Miracle, Lizard Priest was able to convince the goblin priest to let them in after some convincing. As the "hostages" are led to the dungeons with other female captives, a Goblin Shaman starts to harass Priestess, who is able to keep her cool. However, Noble Fencer is unable to control her anger and violently kills the Goblin Shaman; when a patrolling goblin goes to investigate, the party was able to maintain their cover by having High Elf Archer scream as if she was a prisoner being harassed. Once the Goblin leaves, High Elf Archer fumes in reaction to Noble Fencer's recklessness, but Goblin Slayer eventually calms her down.

After the party have freed the various women held captive, they kill a few more Goblins and High Elf Archer gets Dwarf Shaman back for his earlier jokes by pouring out all his wine on the Goblins. This way, they can pretend the dead Goblins are drunk and don't have to hide the bodies, much to Dwarf Shaman's misery. Priestess prays for the dead Goblins, so they may not return as evil spirits or undead, earning her Noble Fencer's wrath who chastises her saying the Goblins don't deserve such kindness.

They sneak into the old armory of the castle and Lizard Priest uses a Rust Miracle to destroy the Goblins' equipment before leaving to take on the enemy leader. Dwarf Shaman keeps trying to get Noble Fencer to accept a better weapon than her aluminum dagger, but she keeps refusing. Priestess notes that Noble Fencer seems to be looking for something amongst the weapons, but she still refuses to tell them, earning her advice from Goblin Slayer to not use her Lightning spell usages yet. Suddenly, the Party hears a commotion of drums and horns outside.

Chapter 6
The Party sneaks out into the balconies of the courtyard, watching the Goblins preparing a great form of celebration much to their confusion. They then notice a human-sized Goblin walking up, well built and armored well, Noble Fencer confirming he is the Goblin Paladin. As they watch the ceremony commence, Goblin Slayer realizes they've made a terrible miscalculation as the ceremony is akin to a Coronation, the Goblin Paladin being anointed the "king" of the fortress. Priestess then realizes what he means, that coronations require a Goblin Shaman to complete, like the one Noble Fencer bludgeoned to death moments ago. Realizing her mistake, Noble Fencer begins to break down, the absence of the Shaman starts to make the Goblins suspicious, forcing the Goblin Paladin to activate a curse where Noble Fencer's nape was branded. Unable to relieve her pain, she screams out in pain which gives away their location to the Goblin Paladin, and both Goblin Slayer and Goblin Paladin lock eyes with one another.

As the Goblin Paladin showers them with arrows, Noble Fencer breaks down and out loud screams she just wants to retrieve her rapier and just go home. Finally realizing why she came back, Goblin Slayer blocks an arrow meant for Noble Fencer and proclaims he will kill the Goblin Paladin, retrieve her rapier for her, destroy the Goblin nest, and he will kill all the Goblins in that order or not, rekindling her resolve. Goblin Slayer promptly orders the Party to split up into two groups; Priestess, Noble Fencer and himself would act as bait and try to kill as many Goblins as possible, while the other group, would use the opportunity to destroy the Goblin food supply and sneak in the basement prison to escort the captives they rescued earlier out of the fortress where they'll regroup and escape.

Goblin Slayer and his group lead the Goblins up to the ramparts of the fortress, Priestess using Holy Light to attract the Goblins to them. Goblin Slayer notes that since Noble Fencer is with them, someone the Goblins intend to use as a sacrifice, the Goblins won't be too destructive. He also makes sure Priestess has her Adventurer's toolkit and make her ready to use it and leaves her last Protection Miracle to be used at her discretion. The trio hold their own and begin to get Noble Fencer to work with their teamwork better earning the two girls Goblin Slayer's approval. Down below, Lizard Priest, High Elf Archer, and Dwarf Shaman run through the fortress and quickly start destroying the Goblins' food supply and even more weapons before going to the captives hiding spot.

Back on the ramparts, Goblin Slayer takes care of another wave of Goblins, the Goblin Paladin arrives to do battle with Goblin Slayer who notes, "he's late". As the two duel, Goblin Slayer realizes the properties of the aluminum rapier and orders Priestess to ready her grappling hook to escape as Noble fencer fire one of her Lightning spells to wipe out another wave and causing the Goblin Paladin to be distracted as Goblin Slayer throws a broken sword at him. The trio repel down the fortress, Priestess chastising Goblin Slayer for admitting "three people are heavy but he could manage" telling him such things shouldn't be said when two of the three people are young woman.

Down below the trio are reunited with thee rest of the Party, who used Dwarf Shaman's Tunnel Spell to dig themselves and the captives out. Dwarf Shaman reports that they destroyed the food and weapons, collected spare weapons as they knew Goblin Slayer would need a few replacements. Noble Fencer even earns some praise from High Elf Archer for finally keeping her cool under pressure, making her happy for the first time in a while. Up above, the Goblin Paladin views everything he worked to build has been destroyed and vows vengeance on Goblin Slayer.

As the Party make their escape, the Goblin Paladin casts Lunacy on his army which causes them to go berserk. They make their way to the Party, High Elf Archer asking if this was part of the plan to which Goblin Slayer confirms. Lizard Priest admits the cold is starting to get to him as he carries the captive woman to safety causing Priestess to aid him. High Elf Archer tries to snipe the Goblin Paladin, but his army keeps sacrificing themselves to protect him. Finding a safe place to rest, Goblin Slayer takes a potion, a Dragontooth Sword, instructs Priestess to use Protection at her discretionand instructs Noble Fencer to fire her Lightning at his order but to aim for something the reader cannot hear, but she confirms the order.

Confronted by the Goblin Paladin, Goblin Slayer crosses blades with him and comments he has learned swordplay better since moments earlier. High Elf Archer uses her sling as well to aid Goblin Slayer since she lost all her arrows. The Goblin Paladin instructs his soldiers to rush Goblin Slayer, but his swordsmanship and maneuverability causes the Goblins to hit the Goblin Paladin instead. The two have a stand off, and the Goblin Paladin strikes Goblin Slayer through his shield, however, Goblin Slayer announces he "fell for it". Quickly shifting, Goblin Slayer wrestles the rapier out of the Goblin Paladin's hand, declaring Goblins are stupid, but he was indeed a fool as he slays the Goblin Paladin, causing the Goblins to riot. With this, Goblin Slayer orders Noble Fencer to fire, which she fires her Lightning at the mountain top, causing an avalanche.

Priestess casts Protection then, shielding the group from the oncoming avalanche, and wiping out the Goblin army. Goblin Slayer, however, is also swept away in the avalanche much to the Party's shock. As Goblin Slayer was caught in the avalanche, Noble Fencer briefly begins to blame herself for telling him she wanted her rapier back, thinking he needlessly sacrificed him for her arrogance. She looks back on how her arrogant "starve them out plan", how it got her friends killed, how she ruined Goblin Slayer's infiltration plan, and now his supposed death, she laments that she never should've run away from home and became an Adventurer. Suddenly, Goblin Slayer pulls himself out of the snow revealing he is okay thanks to his breath ring, though he admits he should've accounted for the impact of force from the avalanche. He then hands Noble Fencer her rapier as she breaks down in tears, thankful for everything they had done for her.

Interlude
Satisfied with how the adventure went, Illusion and Truth celebrate Goblin Slayer's victory against the Goblin Paladin. Their visible joy gets the other Gods to celebrate with them as they look forward to creating more and more campaigns in the future.

Chapter 7
After the battle with the Goblin Paladin and his goblin army, the party returned to the Guild Tavern in time for the New Year to commence. As the Adventurers celebrated in the Tavern, Goblin Slayer was nowhere to be seen, which created concerns from his fellow party members until Cow Girl tells them he usually goes on watch on New Years, worried the celebration will attract Goblins. During the celebration, Noble Fencer states she will return to her parents and make up with them, but not before ordering graves for her deceased Party members. After all that, then she'll decide where her future will take her, but she accepts her life as an Adventurer is over. She promises to become pen pals with Priestess, only for High Elf Archer to get jealous until Noble Fencer promises to write to all the girls.

As instructed by Cow Girl, Priestess went on to deliver a box meal for Goblin Slayer. He tells her that the Goblin Paladin had been working to turn his fortress into a Goblin refinery, using the mining tools to dig for precious metals and use Noble Fencer's Lighting until she died to create armor and weapons for his army. As soon as he questions if he will be able to keep up with the evolving goblins, Priestess scolds him for focusing on Goblins rather than celebrating with his friends. He surprisingly agrees, though he admits parties aren't his strong point. After he and Priestess begin preparing stew, Goblin Slayer tells her that he looks forward to another year of adventuring with her much to her happiness as she likewise looks forward to many more years of adventuring with her Party.

Trivia

 * Noble Fencer offering her hair as payment is a reference to a Japanese belief about a woman's hair; "A Woman's Hair is her Life", for her to cut her hair is her symbolizing the "death" of her old life and start of a new one.
 * Female Knight drunkenly pesters Heavy Warrior that he should "think of his parents and start making Grandparents out of them". To which Heavy Warrior counters his parents are already deceased and he deduces it's her parents that are pestering her to get married, earning him her drunken wrath.