Carl charges through No Man’s Land amid smoke, strobes, Dazzler music, poison rocks, pulse fire, and constant casualty notifications. Visibility is nearly gone, allies are scattered, and Carl keeps pushing forward with Donut and Mongo nearby while soul poisoning worsens and causes physical pain.

A large magic diffusion spell suddenly clears the battlefield and strips away the Posse’s war protections, illusions, and ear protection, while the Dazzlers remain active. Carl briefly sees the enemy trench line: a mixed force of mercenaries and NPCs, many disoriented by light and sound, but some helmeted soldiers continue firing steadily. A heavy pulse gun begins cutting through the assault.

Carl shoves Donut and Mongo behind cover, throws a full-strength hob-lobber at the heavy gun, and manages to stop its fire without confirming kills. Imani moves through the battle rescuing wounded soldiers, Donut heals Mongo, and Carl throws more smoke as buffs and debuffs begin returning. Carl accidentally broadcasts a command to the whole force—“Go. Forward!”—and the assault continues.

Carl takes a hard hit to the shoulder that drops his tech shield, while soul poisoning worsens again and inflicts a new condition called Post Coital Blues. Colonel Boomer reports that the craters are being hit, and Carl orders the plan forward. The ground gives way beneath Carl, Mongo, Imani, and others as they drop into a crater before the enemy trenches, where Imani deposits one dead soldier and one critically wounded crawler.

Knowing the crater will soon be targeted, Carl switches to near proximity chat and uses a Build Trench scroll. He aligns the new trench with the enemy trench, confirms the connection despite the elevation warning, and opens a passage through the defenses. Other soldiers do the same from nearby craters, exploiting the scroll’s craft-magic properties to bypass protections and create multiple breaches.

A Saccathian soldier falls into the newly created trench passage, injured and blinded by a Dazzler module that rolls into the crater. As enemy forces rush to defend the new breaches, Carl activates Daughter’s Kiss on his foot, orders everyone to take cover, and leaps onto the struggling soldier’s chest.