We can't really judge what was a "late addition," since we have no idea where the story is even going. No one in the comic has an actual goal or plan what they want to do. Well, apart from Big Ears, who wants to get rid of the axe in a way that saves the world. Of course the axe breaking has happened so long ago and has been ignored by pretty much everyone to the point where it just doesn't feel important at all, let alone urgent. Of course that's not all that surprising; the goblins have long ago handed the reins of main character over to Minmax, and he doesn't care about the axe.