With two hours until Phase Three, the battlefield is quiet after Club Vanquisher’s shutdown and the Blood Sultanate’s elimination. Carl explains that the calm is partly staged for viewers: Team Retribution and its allies are secretly preparing Operation Ruin, a major offensive planned to begin as soon as open hostilities start.

Carl reviews the three fronts. Florin’s forces hold the northern line near the Skull Empire, Tran’s battalion holds the southern trenches while the former Blood Sultanate’s land is turned into trap fields, and Juice Box unexpectedly supplies troops to help Li Na defend Shanty Town around Larracos. Carl believes the enemy teams may coordinate against the crawlers despite their rivalries, making the next phase extremely dangerous.

At the base of the new Nest tower in Shanty Town, Donut complains about the tower’s gray granite color while Toyotomi explains its protections. The tower is designed to give Donut line of sight over the entire battlefield and to draw enemy fire, but Carl anxiously checks every safeguard because Donut will be exposed at the top. The tower is completed, glows gold as a master-quality structure, and mages begin layering protection spells over it.

Katia joins Carl and Donut, briefly lightening the mood with Mongo and Rend, but Carl thinks about Katia’s plan to eat the Orchid of Eileithyia's Grace after the coming fight. Carl dreads the possible outcomes: Katia becoming a celestial attendant, being expelled from the dungeon through the pregnancy prize, or being trapped in a condition that could block both Katia and Donut from continuing. Carl also notes that Milk, whom he recognized emotionally, has refused to come along and is being held in the FUPA for interrogation by Rosetta, Mordecai, and Prepotente.

Dong Quixote and Splash Zone report that they found no sign of the missing dancers from the Desperado Club and Bitches. Baroness Victory and Drick then pull Carl and Katia into a mandatory broadcast interview after Louis performs poorly and appears emotionally shaken by footage involving Juice Box; Carl asks Imani and Donut to check on Louis. During the interview, Kevin reviews Katia’s divine knee pads from Kina and Carl’s absurd but valuable enchanted hairbrush, while Baroness Victory explains how divine item effects may work near gods.

As the interview continues, Carl watches allies gathering and preparing outside the privacy bubble. The sight reminds Carl of past crawlers who died after following his plans, and Carl questions his right to lead so many people into Operation Ruin. With the offensive less than two hours away, Carl knows victory may require simultaneous attacks from every direction and may cost many friends, with Donut carrying the heaviest burden.