Carl meets Colonel Boomer, an elderly former crawler and militant elf now commanding the 106th Bloody Leeches for the Princess Posse. Boomer is infamous for his hatred of the crawl, past violence, and blunt style, but Tipid trusts him, and his troops respect him. Donut, nervous before the assault, fixates on Boomer’s smell, appearance, and cigar in chat while Carl studies the battle map.

Tran briefs Carl, Donut, and Boomer on the enemy positions inside Naga territory. The Dream has placed large and small trebuchets behind the trenches, and the bombardment is exhausting Carl’s mages. Tran reports possible anti-air positions, mercenary zebra cavalry in reserve, twenty idle tanks that may be decoys, and at least one hundred Madness troops who turned invisible and disappeared.

Boomer warns that the invisible Madness soldiers may be Monkeywrenchers, specialists known for sabotaging and capturing castles early in Faction Wars. He also explains that the Dream bombardiers will likely flee if the assault reaches their artillery, but traps and elite household guards remain a threat. Carl notes that their slang for enemy soldiers, cheese sticks, has already spread through the army.

The group reviews the enemy trench layout and force distribution. Elle’s scouting suggests the first trench is mostly NPCs and mercenaries, especially Prism troops, while officers and medical units are farther back; few true Naga troops are visible. Carl compares this with reports from Florin and Katia on the northern front and concludes that most enemy forces are accounted for except many Reavers and Nagas.

Carl checks that Boomer’s troops, Tran’s mages, and Britney’s NPC-linked team are ready. Because the Naga castle is built on rocky ground near Shanty Town, the assault cannot rely on heavy tunneling and instead uses changeling spies as part of the plan. Carl reflects that the Naga castle often falls first, but the Sultana always vanishes before attackers reach her, meaning capturing or killing her will require special care. Carl gives the order to begin, and Boomer lights his cigar in approval.