I Died and Became a Noble's Heir

Chapter 256: Test is over

The ice storm filled the throne room, every piece of frozen material becoming a projectile aimed at Jack’s position.

There was no dodging, no blocking, just overwhelming volume that made defense impossible.

Jack crossed his arms in front of his face and tanked the impact.

Ice shards struck his armor from every angle, each one carrying force enough to crack stone.

His armor held, but the impacts drove him to one knee, hundreds of small damages adding up.

Through the storm, Pho advanced. Each step accompanied by ice forming beneath his feet, creating a path through his own attack that left him completely untouched.

Jack’s right hand came up, electricity gathering not in a quick burst but in sustained discharge.

Arc Blast.

Blue lightning exploded from his palm in a focused stream, a continuous beam of electrical energy that carved through the ice storm.

The beam struck Pho center mass, burning through flesh, leaving a blackened channel across his chest.

The Deathfrost Demon’s advance halted, his expression showing actual pain for the first time.

Jack’s left hand came up to continue the assault.

Double Arc Blast. Both palms discharging simultaneously, doubling the damage output per second.

Blue lightning flooded the space between them, the combined beams creating a pillar of electrical destruction that lit the throne room brighter than day.

[-3,570 HP]

[-7,140 HP]

[-7,140 HP]

[Enemy HP: 182,125/227,000]

Pho’s ice armor began forming, translucent blue plating materializing across his body to absorb the damage. But the lightning was faster, burning through the ice as quickly as it formed, keeping the Deathfrost Demon pinned under sustained assault.

Then, Pho snapped his fingers.

The sound cut through even the crackling discharge of Arc Blast.

Ice responded instantly, not forming slowly but exploding into existence.

A sphere of frozen material erupted outward from Pho’s position, expanding in all directions with devastating force.

Jack cut the Arc Blast and threw himself backward, but the ice explosion caught him anyway. The blast wave sent him flying across the throne room to crash into the far wall hard enough to crack stone.

[-847 HP]

[HP: 2,528/3,375]

{That hurt. That definitely hurt. Maybe stop getting hit?}

Jack pushed himself up from the rubble, Oscar still gripped tight. Pho was already moving, closing the distance with frightening speed. Ice formed in his hands, not into projectiles but into a massive weapon.

The frost axe materialized, six feet from blade to base, its head nearly three feet across. The weapon was forged from the same pale blue ice that made up the fortress, but denser, heavier, radiating cold that made the air itself visible.

Pho hefted it with casual ease despite its size and took a practice swing that cut the air with a sound like wind across frozen tundra.

”No holding back,” Pho declared, his blank white eyes fixed on Jack. ”I want to see what you’re actually capable of before I tear you apart.”

Jack shifted Oscar in his grip, blue lightning still crackling across the spear’s length. His enhanced speed from Thunder Mantle made every movement feel effortless, his connection to the weapon absolute.

They charged simultaneously.

Oscar met the frost axe in a clash that sent shockwaves rippling outward.

Blue lightning and pale ice, opposing forces meeting with enough impact to shatter the frozen floor beneath them.

They separated, circled, and clashed again.

Jack went low with a sweeping strike aimed at Pho’s legs. The Deathfrost Demon jumped, brought the axe down in an overhead chop that Jack rolled away from.

The axe struck the floor and ice erupted upward in dozens of sharp spikes.

Jack’s form blurred, enhanced speed making him nearly invisible to a normal human.

Three thrusting attacks in rapid succession, each one targeting a different point on Pho’s body.

The first struck his shoulder.

The second store hit his side.

And the third hit his thigh.

[-9,402 HP]

[-9,402 HP]

[-9,402 HP]

[-2,770 HP]

[-2,770 HP]

[-2,770 HP]

[Enemy HP: 145,609/227,000]

Pho staggered, frost-blue blood pouring from all three wounds.

His ice armor tried to regenerate, but the damage was too extensive, the attacks too fast. For a moment, he looked genuinely threatened.

Then a large smile erupted across his face.

”Better. Much better.” Pho slammed the frost axe into the ground. ”But let me show you what real power looks like.”

The entire throne room vibrated.

Every piece of ice, every frozen surface, every crystallized molecule, all of it moved simultaneously.

Pillars erupted from the floor in dozens of locations. Spikes shot from walls. The ceiling cracked and frozen stalactites fell like spears.

The arena transformed into a death trap where simply existing became dangerous.

Jack had to constantly move, duck, weave, and use Abyssal Steps to teleport away from attacks that came at him.

Through the chaos, Pho kept on pushing forward.

The frost axe swung in wide arcs, each strike creating secondary effects. Ice explosions, shard storms, frozen waves that spread across the ground and tried to trap Jack’s feet.

Jack stomped his foot.

Thunder Stomp!

Blue electricity surged through the frozen floor, racing toward Pho in a crackling wave.

The energy gathered beneath the Deathfrost Demon’s feet and exploded upward in a massive thunderbolt that struck him from below.

[-4,284 HP]

[Enemy HP: 141,325/227,000]

The thunderbolt lifted Pho off the ground for a moment, his massive frame suspended by pure electrical force.

Jack used the opening, closing distance in two quick steps enhanced by Thunder Mantle’s speed.

Piercing Strike!

Oscar drove forward with every ounce of enhanced strength Jack possessed.

The four-bladed tip, wreathed in blue lightning, aimed for Pho’s exposed chest while he was still airborne and unable to dodge.

The spear connected dead center, punching through ice armor like it wasn’t there, driving deep into flesh and muscle and possibly striking something vital.

Blue electricity discharged directly into the wound, spreading through Pho’s body in visible arcs.

[-17,094 HP]

[Enemy HP: 124,231/227,000]

Jack yanked Oscar free and immediately backstopped, creating distance.

Pho crashed to the ground, the impact cracking the frozen floor, frost-blue blood pouring from the massive wound in his chest.

The spear connected dead center, punching through ice armor like it wasn’t there, driving deep into flesh and muscle and possibly striking something vital.

Blue electricity discharged directly into the wound, spreading through Pho’s body in visible arcs.

[-17,094 HP]

[Enemy HP: 124,231/227,000]

Jack yanked Oscar free and immediately backstopped, creating distance.

Pho crashed to the ground, the impact cracking the frozen floor, frost-blue blood pouring from the massive wound in his chest.

They watched as Pho slowly stood, his massive form straightening despite the wound.

The injury began to close, ice forming within the flesh itself, freezing the damage, preventing further blood loss.

”You’ve exceeded my expectations,” Pho said, his voice carrying genuine respect despite the pain.

”Most demons would be dead ten times over by now. But you’re still standing.”

”I knew you were holding back on me last time we fought.”

He lifted the frost axe, the weapon gleaming in the blue lightning that still crackled through the air.

”But the test is over, Soul Warden. Now I show you why demons fear the Deathfrost.”