Dusk (BL Light Novel)

[Tribe] Vassal: Your Highnesssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tribe] Vassal: What are you all doing without calling the royal physician?!!!!!!!!!!
The concept player had arrived. Perhaps because of that desperate chat, eight resurrection spells were cast on the mass of light above me.
When I accepted the resurrection, I was transported to the spot where the caster was standing. The mass of light gradually took on a humanoid shape as my character materialized. Since it was a skill-based resurrection rather than a base resurrection, my HP was only at 50%, and the nearby healers cast healing skills on me.

In no time, my health was back to full. Out of habit, I started doping up and surveyed the battlefield, which had now turned into a full-scale faction war. Amidst the sea of players, Gang Jaegyung caught my eye — he had already replenished his health and was clumsily tanking.
So, it's a faction war this time. Looks like fun. For once, I felt grateful to the concept player. And to Moon Seonhwa, who had revealed my location.
[Tribe] Honeybread:

As soon as I sent the party support message through tribe chat, party invites poured in. Since Vassal was in one of them, I joined that party.
[Alliance Leader] Vassal: His Majesty has returned to life!!!!!!!!!!
[Alliance Leader] Vassal: All units, attaaaaaaack!!!!!!!!!!

Is he a vassal or a general? Whatever. I skimmed through the party list.
Harmonizer Healer Lv.45 | Honeybread
Paladin Protector Lv.45 | longer

Warrior Slayer Lv.45 | QT
Assassin Slayer Lv.45 | Grape
Harmonizer Slayer Lv.45 | Vassal

Priest Healer Lv.45 | Bunshinsaba
The healers consisted of a sub-healer Priest and me as the main healer — just the two of us. The composition was a textbook setup of Paladin, Warrior, Assassin, Harmonizer, Priest, and Healer.
I distributed buffs to each party member and started to assess the surroundings to fully immerse myself in the battle.

Continuously healing the Paladin as he took hits at the frontline, occasionally tending to the Priest who was being targeted by assassins. On the flip side, whenever assassins latched onto me, the sub-tank and secondary healer would cover me.
Everyone’s ranks were average, but they seemed adept at faction wars, swiftly coordinating their movements. Not bad.
As a healer, the key was to avoid being too far ahead or too far behind to minimize being targeted. I focused on healing and managing stress, not having a single moment to attack. After a year of not playing, the mental strain of keeping everyone alive was already giving me a splitting headache.
Moreover, our party was the main one, with the Paladin leading the charge and taking the brunt of the damage. The party composition was textbook, but it wasn’t ideal for being the main party. The main party should ideally have two main healers.

Keeping the lead tank alive by myself was draining me. Managing stress was also becoming difficult — I already had two stacks. There was a skill to reset stress stacks, but I couldn’t remember it. I just clicked my tongue in frustration.
Then, a chain shot out from somewhere. I was focused on the party list, healing, and didn’t notice I was being pulled in until it was too late.
I ended up in the middle of the battlefield, the front line. And the one who had pulled me in was none other than Gang Jaegyung.
Damn it, how did he even spot me and drag me over here?

A chill ran down my spine. This could get me killed.
Sure enough, as soon as a healer appeared on the frontline, every enemy attack converged on me. It was a focus fire.
I was the second toughest after the tank, but I wasn’t tough enough to withstand a full-on focus fire. Desperately, I pressed the evade skill.

I didn’t die. Barely.
The Viajok healers who had been keeping an eye on me showered me with heals the moment my evade skill went off. It was a miracle.
But because so many heals were concentrated on me, the tanks at the front received less healing, and the frontline started to waver.
I managed to reposition back to the second line and resumed healing, but a few of the tanks couldn’t withstand the damage and collapsed.

With the number of tanks dwindling and the remaining ones having to take on more damage, our frontline started to crumble. With fewer tanks to hold the line, the damage dealers were now exposed and started getting targeted by the enemy tanks.
The situation was not looking good.
[Alliance Leader] Vassal: Protect the rear while pulling back@@@@@@@

Following the alliance leader’s order, everyone started to fall back. Retreating was just as important a tactic as pushing forward; there was no point in stubbornly holding a losing position.
We cast protective barriers and healed the rear guard (*the frontline that had become the rearguard due to retreating), preventing them from being torn apart by the Jeojajok faction.
Meanwhile, we distanced ourselves from the 27th base as quickly as possible, to ensure that if the Jeojajok faction died, their respawn time would be longer.

Oddly enough, the rear guard wasn’t getting torn apart as expected. Usually, in situations like this, the retreating players who couldn’t keep up would get caught and killed by the enemy… but that wasn’t happening.
I paused healing to assess the situation.
From what I could see, the enemy seemed to ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) lack a proper tank. They had no one to hold the line, protect the rear, or control the battlefield formation.

Gang Jaegyung was clumsily trying to keep the rear guard from falling apart, like a sheepdog herding Viajok players. But it was a poor attempt, expectedly so. He had never done this before. Considering it was his first time, he was doing decently, but the gaps were glaring.
Oh, this is a goddamn freebie. We could easily win this. If I were the Paladin, we’d already have won by now.
If we canceled the retreat and pushed back in, with a tank leading the charge and disrupting the formation, the enemy’s tanks would flounder, and the rear guard would be shredded. We could push through easily.

But we had no tank to pull it off. The dead tanks were too far away to be resurrected quickly, and even if they rushed back, it would take a while given how far they were from the battlefield. There was no guarantee they’d make it in time.
I hesitated for a moment, then opened the alliance list and scanned the players’ classes.
Plenty of healers. Enough harmonizers. Not enough tanks, but we had more than enough damage dealers and healers to make up for it. Numerically, we outnumbered the Jeojajok faction.

I made up my mind. I stopped retreating and moved forward instead — toward the Jeojajok faction.
All or nothing. You never know until you try.
[Alliance] Honeybread: Healers, give me all the heals and barriers you’ve got.

[Alliance] Honeybread: Everyone, if I push forward, follow me.
[Alliance] Honeybread: We don’t have any tanks left, so don’t be afraid to die.
The alliance chat, which had been silent, suddenly displayed only my messages. The retreating players began to slow down, glancing back.

[Alliance Leader] Vassal: What are you doing??
Vassal had even dropped his role-play persona to ask.
What am I doing? Hell, I’m tanking because I’m so damn frustrated.

As a Harmonizer, I had the second highest health and defense after a tank. If I got a constant barrage of heals, I might just manage to hold out. Then, tanking might actually be possible. The biggest downside was that no one else would get healed, but in this situation, the damage dealers would likely die even if they received heals. If they were going to die anyway, it made more sense to bet on the option with the highest chance of success.
I collected my thoughts and, in the brief lull in the battle, activated Defiance to prevent status effects, then turned on Sprint and dashed straight into the enemy line.
The Viajok players behind me slowly advanced towards the Jeojajok position, following my lead.

As soon as I hit the frontline, a barrage of attacks rained down, instantly breaking my Sprint. But just as quickly, a flood of heals and barriers came pouring down on me, offsetting the damage.
Gang Jaegyung was positioned at the center of the frontline. He stepped in front of me, throwing out a Capture skill, but thanks to Defiance, I avoided being immobilized.
Taking all the focus onto myself, I plowed ahead, forcing my way between the Jeojajok frontline and midline. As soon as I pushed in, the surrounding Jeojajok players hesitated, backing off.

If luck wasn’t on my side, I could end up dying right here. This was a moment when I had no choice but to put my trust in the healers.
I drank a potion myself and activated Self-Heal as I secured a position closer to the midline, then triggered Protection Aura.
Quick Twist to cancel the skill, followed by Pivot Twist to stun. The area of effect was small, so it wasn’t particularly effective, but it was just a prerequisite skill to set up the next chain attack, so it didn’t matter.

Then, I turned around to the frontline, who still assumed they weren’t my target, and unleashed a Spinning Kick, knocking them back.
I adjusted the command to widen the knockback range, creating a gap between the frontline and midline. Without missing a beat, I used my retreat skill to quickly approach the now scattered Jeojajok frontline and delivered a Joint Lock followed by a Vital Strike combo.
The frontline players had their attack speed and movement speed reduced, and some were stunned, making it much harder for them to regroup quickly.

Next, I activated the Distance-Creating Skill, a continuation of the combo, and lunged toward the midline, unleashing a Wide-Area Knockdown Skill. The frontmost players collapsed, and those who weren’t hit stepped back instinctively.
It might seem trivial, but when such disorienting sequences hit in rapid succession, players can’t help but feel like they’re getting overwhelmed — a sensation I knew all too well from two years of leading frontline faction wars.
[Alliance] Honeybread: Push forward.

[Alliance] Honeybread: Ignore the frontline and just keep pressing forward.