Dusk (BL Light Novel)

The battle dragged on without a clear winner. The enemy lacked firepower but had so many healers that their mana reserves never ran dry. Meanwhile, on our side, the incoming damage was so minimal that our healers barely needed to heal, leaving them with plenty of mana to spare.
This wasn’t going to end in a healer versus healer battle.
Since we were the ones defending, simply maintaining the current state would be enough to secure at least a partial victory. But since we were already in the thick of the fight, I wanted to push for a complete wipe. I wanted to go all in and wipe them out if we could. My head was starting to throb from all the overthinking.

How do you break a composition that’s low in firepower but high in sustain?
How do you break a composition that’s low in firepower but high in sustain…
Forget it. Let’s keep it simple. If they’re good at sustaining, then we have to break that sustain.

“Hey.”
― “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Take the melee DPS to the 9 o’clock position. Quietly. Make sure they don’t notice.”

― “What are you trying to do?”
“I’m going to try something.”
I left the task of moving the melee DPS to Moon Seonhwa and opened the alliance chat to calmly lay out my plan.

[Alliance] Honeybread: To the right, can the tanks on the 1st Line push forward a bit?
[Alliance] Honeybread: You need to push a little and hold your ground.
[Alliance] UselessUniversity: Yeah, we can do that.
[Alliance] Oasiss: Yeah, that much is doable.
Good. Now for the next part.
“Who are you marking with Scars right now?” (Scars - Assassin’s ultimate debuff)

― “Retaking a Class and, just in case, Meltdown too.”
Retaking a Class and a Harmonizer Priest. One of them was definitely going to die. But considering Retaking a Class was under heavy protection from his healers, he was likely to survive. That left Meltdown as the primary target for the Assassin’s ult.
“If I give the signal, can you ult Meltdown?”

― “Yeah, probably. Scars is almost maxed out.”
[Alliance] Honeybread: NicknameIsAllTaken, who are you marking with Scars?
[Alliance] NicknameIsAllTaken: AfterWork.
Perfect. NicknameIsAllTaken, the Sniper Commander, had marked AfterWork, the Priest Destroyer Commander. That worked out perfectly.
That meant we’d have two Priests marked with Scars. If we timed it right, both would go down.

[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: NicknameIsAllTaken, the moment Scars is maxed, kill the Destroyer.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: We’re going to push from the 3 o’clock position.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: But to keep them from noticing, don’t move yet.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: When I say 3, 2, 1, everyone push to 3 o’clock and focus fire.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: 1st Line tanks, push as much as you can and hold the line.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Core, move to 3 o’clock and help the tanks hold the line.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Assassination Team, Melee DPS, and a small attack squad — stay in the center. Once Jeojajok is distracted, move to 9 o’clock and start cutting off their rear — focus on the healers.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: While you’re cutting off the rear, I’ll push through the center and prevent their 2nd Line from reinforcing the rear. Central tanks, move with me.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Wait until everyone reads the chat. We’ll start the plan in 10 seconds.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Key points: 1. Do not let them realize the rear cut-off is happening until it’s too late.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: 2. Maintain distance to prevent Genocide from triggering.
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Starting countdown now — 10 seconds.
I started counting to ten in my head.
But then, from the backline, I saw people already moving toward the 9 o’clock position.

Damn it. If Gang Jaegyung was paying attention, he’d definitely notice. There were always players who couldn’t move discreetly, no matter how much you told them to.
Nothing I could do about it now. I could only hope Jeojajok wouldn’t notice.
I resumed my countdown, watching the battlefield and gauging the enemy’s response.

[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: 333333333333333333333
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: 222222222222222222222
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: 111111111111111111111
[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO! GO!
 
Fortunately, those who understood my order began to push toward the 9 o’clock position.

Jeojajok hadn’t received any intel about our strategy, and they scrambled to redirect their forces. Their central line was packed with skilled players and tanky frontliners, but their flanks were relatively weak and began to crumble. Knight rushed over to plug the gap, and only then did our advance falter.
The battlefield formation, which had been a straight line clash, now twisted into a shape resembling a yin-yang pattern. The skirmish continued, but now Assassins and Melee DPS struck the rear from the opposite side, while I waited in the center.
The moment the Assassins cut off the rear line, I lunged forward, slicing through the 2nd Line to sever the connection between the 1st and 3rd Lines.

It was as if Jeojajok opened its mouth like a fish, and we drove straight into it, cutting them off from the inside.
But instead of being trapped, we were the ones in control. The sudden shift in momentum had Jeojajok scrambling to contain the right side. Meanwhile, the Assassins continued tearing through the rear line, and with me disrupting the center, they couldn’t send reinforcements to protect the rear.
It was a relentless assault, and Jeojajok’s formation crumbled as we systematically sliced through their midsection. They tried to pull back to the rear, but I pressed forward, keeping them within striking distance.

By now, the Assassins had successfully cut off the rear line, and Jeojajok was desperately trying to maintain their 1st and 2nd Lines. It was time to signal Moon Seonhwa.
“Hey, now.”
[Tribe] Viajok Commander Sillonti has cast Messiah at the Heart of the Breathless Land.
[Tribe] Viajok Commander Sillonti has slain Jeojajok Commander Meltdown.

As soon as I gave the signal, the distinctive, ominous siren of an offensive ultimate echoed throughout the map. Moon Seonhwa successfully used her ultimate skill to take down the Jeojajok Harmonizer Commander.
Just as expected — nothing takes down an Avatar like an Assassin’s offensive ultimate.
Now, the only healing ultimate Jeojajok had left was the Harmonizer’s Restart. If they used Restart now, we’d have to fight them all over again. Sure, their formation was still a mess, but I couldn’t predict how long they’d last under heavy pressure.

[Tribe] Jeojajok Commander Support has cast Restart at the Heart of the Breathless Land.
…What?
Wait a second. This was bad.

We hadn’t finished off the remaining enemies yet. Worse, we’d just blown an Assassin’s ultimate to take down the Harmonizer Commander. If they used Restart, which revived all dead allies within the last 10 seconds, then Moon Seonhwa’s ultimate would be completely wasted.
I frantically scanned the battlefield and hit the ultimate button.
[Tribe] Viajok Commander Honeybread has cast Decalogue at the Heart of the Breathless Land.

The Defender’s offensive ultimate, Decalogue, dealt massive AoE damage and inflicted a Healing Prohibition debuff. If the timing was right, I could prevent the Harmonizer from healing the revived targets and disrupt their attempt to regroup.
But my luck ran out.
[Tribe] Jeojajok Commander Meltdown has cast Messiah at the Heart of the Breathless Land.

The revived Harmonizer Commander had anticipated my ultimate and waited for the Healing Prohibition debuff to wear off before activating her healing ultimate. As a result, Jeojajok’s forces had their health fully restored and gained a shield on top of that.
The rear line that had been collapsing was now fully reinforced, and Jeojajok surged forward, pushing us back.
I hadn’t expected them to burn Restart just to save the Harmonizer Commander, but they had. Now, we had no choice but to counter with our own ultimate skills to prevent a full wipe.

[Alliance Commander] Honeybread: Ax, use your protection ultimate.
[Tribe] Viajok Commander Ax has cast Pillar of Revolution at the Heart of the Breathless Land.
The Warrior Commander’s protection ultimate erected a shield, halting the incoming wave and stabilizing our front line.

But now, the battlefield had returned to its initial state — both sides at a standstill, neither gaining ground. The only difference was that now both sides had burned their ultimate skills.
The only positive takeaway was that we had managed to funnel Jeojajok into a confined area, pinning them into a single direction. Since we had more DPS, we could now focus on chipping away at their flanks. It would take time, but it was a viable option.
I scanned the battlefield, observing the overall situation. Viajok’s Assassination Team was working hard to keep slicing through the rear, but Jeojajok’s healer count was so high that the moment one went down, another immediately revived them, keeping their numbers ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) intact.

Damn. We should have completely wiped them out earlier. Now we were back to square one.
No use dwelling on it. It was time to devise a new strategy.