CHAPTER 165: THE FIRST SWORD SKILL OF OATHBLADE.

Elysia made her decision. She pressed her hand against her chest, where the strange energy from the orb now pulsed steadily like a second heartbeat.

"This power... I want to try it at the Elaris Forest," she said.

The housemaid, standing beside her with a look of worry nodded. The seal of power had awakened, and the orb had merged with her spirit.

To keep such strength caged within the walls of the estate would only be dangerous. It had to be tested, honed, and mastered.

No sooner had Elysia absorbed the last shimmering strands of the orb’s light, she vanished into the forest.

her body moved as if guided by the energy flowing through her veins.

The Elaris Forest stretched vast and deep beyond the southern ridges.

It was still daytime when sunrise fell upon the forest floor.

After several minutes of traversing its shadowed paths, Elysia stopped in the middle of a big forest.

The orb’s power inside her had grown restless, as though it sensed prey nearby. Her hand gripped the hilt of the Oathblade, and her heart quickened.

She didn’t have to wait long.

Rustling came from the underbrush. The snapping of twigs, the low growl of something hungry.

And then—two beasts emerged from the giant trees.

They were Feral Rank Beasts, their forms wolf-like but larger, muscles bulging beneath coarse fur.

Elysia exhaled slowly. She could feel the orb’s energy flooding her limbs, amplifying her every movement.

Her aura began to flare. The once cold Oathblade in her grip pulsed like a living flame.

Then, before her eyes, the steel began to shift. Lines of glowing crimson etched across the blade, as though molten veins had come alive within it.

The sword stretched, lengthened, burning brighter until it seemed like a shard of a fallen star forged into steel.

The once ordinary blade had transformed into a terrifying weapon.

Elysia raised the weapon high. The forest air trembled, leaves shaking violently in the unseen pressure of her aura.

She shouted out like thunder.

"DIVINE STAR OF WAR!"

She unleashed a new skill.

The blade cleaved downward, trailing a radiant arc of burning light.

The very air split apart, and a shockwave roared across the forest.

Trees bent, some uprooted completely, their trunks groaning as they were hurled aside like grass in a storm. The ground itself quaked.

Half of the terrain felt the heavy wind from far afar.

One of the feral beasts didn’t even have time to run out. The blade’s arc cut through its body with unstoppable force, splitting flesh and bone cleanly in half.

Its two halves crashed to the ground, lifeless, blood steaming in the wake of the sword’s searing aura.

Elysia lowered her weapon, panting heavily.

Her arms trembled from the raw destructive force she had just summoned. She had slain one beast in a single strike.

(The power of the Divine Star of War was terrifying.) she thought.

The second feral beast, its companion slain before its eyes, went crazy and furious. Its roars shook the trees as its body began to convulse and grow.

The bones cracked, muscles swelled, and in mere moments it towered twice its original size.

Its maw expanded into a gaping jaw lined with jagged, knife-like teeth that gleamed under the moonlight.

It glared at Elysia with bloodshot fury, hatred dripping from its eyes.

With a roar, it lunged.

The swing of its colossal claws came like a storm. Elysia raised her sword to block, but the sheer weight of the strike was overwhelming.

The impact sent a shockwave through her arms, and before she could stabilize, her body was flung backward.

The force hurled her through the forest like a ragdoll. Branches snapped, rocks shattered, trees broke under her crashing flight.

Her body spun violently in midair, but through it all she clung to her sword, refusing to let it slip from her grip.

Finally, she slammed into the earth, skidding across the dirt and gravel until she crashed near the edge of a small village that bordered the forest.

Dust rose around her, and her breath came ragged, her body aching.

But she was not broken.

Elysia dug the Oathblade into the ground, halting her slide.

Her knees were bent, but she forced herself upright.

Her eyes narrowed, locking on the beast that now thundered toward her, each step shaking the earth beneath its massive form.

The Oathblade pulsed once more. Elysia steadied herself, her grip firm.

This time, she didn’t merely raise the blade—she let the orb’s runes respond to her will.

Lines of faint golden light spread across her palms, intertwining with the crimson threads on the sword.

The energy was alive, almost sentient, flowing into her every muscle, syncing her heartbeat with the rhythm of the battlefield.

It pressed down on the world like the weight of countless soldiers, their cries and shouts echoing in the fiery resonance of the Oathblade.

Some of the Villagers were frozen, their knees weak from the oppressive presence, and even the Feral Rank Beast hesitated, sensing the unnatural power before it.

The beast’s hesitation lasted only a heartbeat before it lunged, claws gouging the ground, tearing furrows through the soil as it closed the distance.

Elysia’s fighting style had shifted.

Where she once relied on precision and flowing footwork, now she embraced a combination of raw power and synchronized energy manipulation.

Every swing of the blade was enhanced by the orb’s runes, which traced arcs of burning light in the air, extending the reach of her strikes.

Her movement was less about evasion and more about anticipation through energy sensing, letting the sword guide her attacks with an almost instinctive accuracy.

Elysia’s eyes narrowed as the beast lunged again, its massive claws tearing through the ground like sickles.

Instead of retreating, she steadied herself. Planting the Oathblade firmly into the earth, she drew in a deep breath, the air vibrating with tension around her.

At once, the orb embedded in the blade responded. Its runes came alive, glowing with a blinding brilliance.

One after another, the golden-red symbols lit up in rapid succession, like a storm of fire and starlight awakening from a long slumber.

The ground beneath her feet trembled, and the trees shuddered as though bowing to an ancient presence.

From the rising glow, power spiraled upward in great arcs.