Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana (Volume 4) – I Can Smell Blood!
After hearing about the Newbie Hunters located on the second floor, the party agrees that something must be done about them. They head to the Dungeon of the Dead and make their way to the second floor!
Goblin Slayer Side Story II: Dai Katana (Volume 4) – I Can Smell Blood!
What happened?
Bizarrely, the Captain can’t remember where he heard the news about the Newbie Hunters and their base on the second floor, but he can’t ignore it. He tells the party about it and isn’t sure what they should do next. There is obviously nothing in it for them, but he can’t shake the feeling that he needs to do something. Luckily, the party is completely on his side and agrees to head into the dungeon the next day and hunt down these Newbie Hunters. Female Warrior is particularly grateful. She even took the time to thank him personally after everyone else had passed out drunk. Although it felt more like teasing than anything else.
The next morning, they head into the Dungeon of the Dead and fight their way to the stairs to the second floor. While entering, they encounter the Knight of Diamonds’ party returning from the second floor covered in blood and clearly suffering from some injuries. Did they go after the Newbie Hunters too? If so, then this is the perfect time to attack given that they would likely have suffered some injuries too. On their way there, they are forced to fight a toxic cloud monster that almost causes them some issues. They also don’t have a map but are able to rely on Sword Maiden to use her sense of smell to locate the Newbie Hunters. The unmistakable stench of blood guided them to a chamber on the second floor. They burst in and find the Newbie Hunters. They clearly fought the Knight of Diamonds’ party, but they are ready for another fight. This is going to be their biggest test yet!
What did you think?
So this was brutal. We’ve seen some dark things already in this series, but the Newbie Hunters took things to another level. The fight was great and I was pleased to see everyone come out of it all right, however, as they searched through the Newbie Hunter’s stuff, they found a silver chest plate and strands of blonde hair. The Captain recognised it as being from one of the girls they recently helped. He hoped that it could be someone else, but that seems unlikely. To make matters worse, their intentions for Female Wizard and Sword Maiden make it quite clear what they would have done to that group of girls from the orphanage. And then there was the stew pot, no doubt full of body parts…
This was absolutely one of the darkest moments in the series so far and even the fact that we never saw it or can confirm what happened, it did enough to leave a horrific image in my imagination. That’s some very clever storytelling. You give the reader enough details to be able to piece together the rest. It was also great to see the group growing stronger together and I had to laugh at the spell they cast on the Newbie Hunter’s leader, making his feet dance uncontrollably to give the Captain a chance to cut him down. I’m really enjoying this series so far and while it is incredibly dark, I think that makes the highs that much stronger even if we have to deal with the lows.
Volume highlights
Series Information
| English Title | Goblin Slayer |
| Japanese Title | Goblin Slayer |
| Genres | Action, Adventure, Dark Fantasy |
| Demographic | Seinen |
Anime
Season One
Movie
| English Title | Goblin’s Crown |
| Japanese Title | Goblin’s Crown |
| Released | Winter 2020 |
| Animation Studios | White Fox |
Season Two
Manga
| Series | Side Story II: Dai Katana |
| Author | Kumo Kagyu |
| Artist | Shougo Aoki |
| Volumes | Ongoing |
| 1 | The Fortress City |
| 2 | There’s Always Tomorrow! |
| 3 | Help and Help Alike! |
| 4 | I Can Smell Blood! |
| 5 | If You Let Your Guard Down, You Die! |
| 6 | Be Thankful to Everything! |
