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Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Cimmerian is a name whispered with awe across the savage world of Hyboria. Born on a blood-soaked battlefield, Conan has carved his legend through steel, cunning, and raw might. Across Howard’s original tales, he has bested monstrous horrors, warlords, corrupt kings, and sorcerers who defied the gods.
But just how many foes have fallen to his blade?
Today, we answer that question with a definitive kill count of Conan’s greatest slaughters—tracked across every original Howard story. This is a tribute to one of the deadliest warriors in fantasy, where every swing of his sword reshaped history.
We’ve tallied Conan’s kills, detailing each story, the number of foes slain, and the most notable enemies that met their gruesome fate.
In a darkened chamber, Conan found himself face-to-face with Thak, a cunning, brutish ape that had usurped its master’s power. The beast was no mere animal—it had intelligence, cruelty, and strength that rivaled any warrior. Their battle was a savage, primal clash of flesh and steel. When Thak lunged, Conan met him with a thrust straight to the heart—a kill that was part brute force, part calculated precision. The creature let out a gurgling cry before collapsing into its own filth, a fitting end for a beast that had played god.
Yes – in “The Scarlet Citadel” Conan does decapitate the evil sorcerer Tsotha-lanti with his sword, and the severed head reacts in a ghastly, supernatural way. After Conan’s blade slices through Tsotha’s neck, the wizard’s head is cut off and falls to the ground, yet the eyes in the severed head still glare fiercely and the lips writhe as if trying to speak. An enchanted eagle (actually the wizard Pelias in disguise) then swoops down and snatches up Tsotha-lanti’s dripping head, carrying it off while laughing in a human voice. Meanwhile, Tsotha’s headless body staggers to its feet and gropes blindly after the stolen head before collapsing. The following passage from the story vividly describes Tsotha-lanti’s death:
“Before Tsotha could toss the globe in his left hand, Conan’s sword sheared through his lean neck. The wizard’s head shot from his shoulders on an arching fount of blood, and the robed figure staggered and crumpled drunkenly. Yet the mad black eyes glared up at Conan with no dimming of their feral light, the lips writhed awfully, and the hands groped, as if searching for the severed head. Then with a swift rush of wings, something swooped from the sky – the eagle which had attacked Tsotha’s horse. In its mighty talons it snatched up the dripping head and soared skyward, and Conan stood struck dumb, for from the eagle’s throat boomed human laughter, in the voice of Pelias the sorcerer.”
“Then a hideous thing came to pass, for the headless body reared up from the sand, and staggered away in awful flight on stiffening legs, hands blindly outstretched toward the dot speeding and dwindling in the dusky sky. Conan stood like one turned to stone, watching until the swift reeling figure faded in the dusk that purpled the meadows.”
Full Story: You can read the entire text of “The Scarlet Citadel” by Robert E. Howard online for free (e.g. via Project Gutenberg Australia)
The beast that took Bêlit, Conan’s great love, was no mere monster—it was a demon of the ancient world, a winged horror that stalked the ruins of the jungle. With vengeance burning in his soul, Conan stood his ground against the inhuman foe. When it struck, he met it with a killing thrust, driving his blade into the beast’s black heart. As the creature writhed and fell, Conan stood above it, drenched in its black ichor, having avenged his beloved.
Howard’s Conan was more than just a warrior—he was a force of nature, a storm of muscle, cunning, and steel. His path was littered with the bodies of kings, beasts, and monsters. Yet for all his violence, there was an unbreakable code to the Cimmerian—a raw, unrelenting will to carve his own fate.
This list is a testament to one of the greatest warriors in fantasy literature—a tally of blood and legend that will echo through the Hyborian Age forever.
So, tell me, which of Conan’s kills was your favorite?
