A dense, decaying aura of darkness emanated from John.


    Subsequently, centered around him, a ck marsh with a diameter of approximately forty meters emerged beneath his feet.


    Within this dark marsh, numerous withered arms formed from the muck surged forth, grabbing hold of the Bloodwing ughterer''s legs and wings, attempting to drag it into the swamp to significantly reduce its speed.


    The Bloodwing ughterer''s blood-red pupils contracted sharply, instinctively sensing danger!


    It struggled, pping its wings, trying to take flight.


    However, John had finally trapped it and had no intention of letting it escape!


    As the Bloodwing ughterer attempted to beat its wings and break free from the Dark Marsh''s grasp, John''s other hand holding the staff glowed with a purple light.


    Five arrows formed from lightning converged behind him.


    "Thunder Arrow!"


    With a mere thought from John, the five thunder arrows turned into bolts of lightning, all striking towards the Bloodwing ughterer.


    "Whizz whizz whizz..."


    The thunder arrows broke through the air.


    Despite the Bloodwing ughterer''s desperate dodges, three of them hit its body.


    Purple arcs of lightning continuously leaped across it, leaving the Bloodwing ughterer rigid and paralyzed on the spot.


    At the same time, three damage numbers rose above its head.


    "-8918!" "-9779!" "-9435!"...


    The Bloodwing ughterer was paralyzed for two seconds.


    Though it was just two seconds, in such a battle, even a single second could be fatal!


    John''s face remained expressionless as he gathered strength in his arm, the chilling ice spear in his hand turning into a streak of light, thrusting towards the Bloodwing ughterer''s heart!


    "Thud!"


    The sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and foul-smelling ck blood instantly sttered.


    "-40012!"


    A bright red damage number rose above the Bloodwing ughterer''s head.


    After transforming, the Bloodwing ughterer''s defense had significantly increased, and it managed to avoid John''s spear aimed at its heart at thest moment.


    Thus, even though the ice spear prated its chest, it did not inflict a fatal wound.


    However, John hadn''t expected to take down the creature with just the ice spear.


    Before the Bloodwing ughterer could catch its breath, it suddenly discovered, to its horror, that a spear burning with a brilliant white me was rapidly condensing in John''s hand.


    In just the span of a breath, the zing white light spear was formed!


    "zing Light Spear!"


    Feeling the terrifying power of the light spear, the Bloodwing ughterer experienced a suffocating sensation, and an indescribable fear surged within.


    Death seemed certain if it were to be hit; it would surely perish!


    This thought emerged in the Bloodwing ughterer''s mind, and fear spread through its heart like a tidal wave.


    It exerted all its strength in a desperate attempt to flee, but controlled by the Dark Marsh and thunder arrow, it couldn''t escape John''s grasp.


    Watching the struggling Bloodwing ughterer, John''s gaze was icy, showing no mercy as he thrust the zing Light Spear directly at its chest!


    "Thud!"


    Another sound of a body being pierced echoed, but this time, the Bloodwing ughterer couldn''t dodge John''s attack and was directly impaled through the heart by the zing Light Spear, leaving an arm-thick wound in its chest.


    Through the gaping wound in its chest, John could even see the Bloodwing ughterer''s organs writhing within its ribcage and the sea of clouds behind it.


    "-80175!"


    A crimson damage number rose above the Bloodwing ughterer''s head.


    Its body slowly bowed to gaze at the horrendous wound in its chest, as if in disbelief that it had been so thoroughly defeated by such a seemingly insignificant magus, and in such a miserable manner.


    John spoke indifferently, "And here I thought you''d be more formidable, one of the Crimson Demon''s twelve Apostles, but that''s all there is to it."


    Despite the fatal injury and its HP depleted, the Bloodwing ughterer didn''t immediately perish but was rendered unable to attack further.


    Faced with John''s taunt, a deep sense of humiliation appeared on the Bloodwing ughterer''s face.


    Its crimson eyes turned towards John, and with augh tinged with rage, it said, "Boy, don''t be so smug. This is not the full extent of my power, and I won''t truly die. We''ll meet again soon. Once I''m out, I''ll ensure you understand what it means to wish for death, to know true despair!"


    John''s brow furrowed slightly, puzzled by the Bloodwing ughterer''s implications.


    Could these creatures have a way to escape?


    If that were true, he would have to report it to Captain Victor!


    The Apostles of the Crimson Demon were restrained in the trial, appearing less formidable, but John was under no illusion that this was the extent of their power.


    If they were to escape, these creatures, at least of transcendent-tier, would undoubtedly bring great cmity to Sterburg and the Federal.


    While John was no saint, he wouldn''t stand idly by and allow such a catastrophe to unfold.


    John was about to probe further, to see if he could glean more information from the Bloodwing ughterer.


    However, the light had already faded from the Bloodwing ughterer''s eyes, and it perished.


    [You have in Lv15 "Bloodwing ughterer (trial)" and gained 58,900 Exp!]


    Simultaneously, prompts for proceeding to the next level and the trial assessment appeared before John.


    [You have passed the "Crimson Demon Heritage Trial''s eleventhyer"!]


    [Your performance in thisyer of the trial was exceptionally outstanding, earning you an SSS-level rating!]


    [Please choose whether to proceed to the nextyer or exit the trial!]


    [Proceed to the nextyer] or [Exit trial]


    ...


    The trialpletion notification appeared.


    John, watching the Bloodwing ughterer''s body slowly dissipate, shook his head.


    The Bloodwing ughterer''s words were cryptic, leaving him with no clues.


    He decided that once out of the trial, he would promptly report the matter to Captain Victor for him and the other powerhouses to consider.


    Such matters among powerhouses were beyond the help a mere bronze-tier awakener like him could offer.


    John decided not to waste his mental energy on it.


    Just as John was about to leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a golden light shing at the spot where the Bloodwing ughterer had dissipated.


    John was taken aback and nearly jumped in surprise.


    "Gold-tier equipment!" he eximed in delight.


    Caught up in his thoughts about the Bloodwing ughterer''s final words, John hadn''t noticed that the creature had dropped equipment, let alone a piece of gold-tier equipment!


    Considering that all his current equipment and assetsbined might not afford him a single piece of gold-tier equipment, this was the first gold-tier item he had acquired!


    John suppressed the excitement bubbling inside him and hurried forward to pick up the equipment.


    To his delight, it turned out to be a gold-tier ring!


    Since John had initially acquired the One-Eyed Lich King''s Furious Bracers, he had also looted two silver-tier and four bronze-tier pieces of equipment in the trial.


    Among them, only two bronze-tier armors were usable for him, leaving John frustrated for quite some time due to the ipatibility of the silver-tier items.


    But now, John had cast all his previous frustrations into the sea.


    If he couldn''t wear silver-tier equipment, then he''d use gold-tier!


    With a gleeful heart, John examined the attributes of the equipment.


    [Equipment]: Ring of Bloodwing ughterer


    [Type]: Ring


    [Level]: Lv15


    [Tier]: Gold-tier


    [Quality]: Precious


    [Attributes]: Spirit +80, Strength +80, Stamina +60, Life Steal +5%


    [Skill]: Bloodthirst (Active)


    [Description]: Upon activating the skill, you will enter a Bloodthirst state, increasing damage by 20%, speed by 15%, and life steal by an additional 10%, while reducing defense by 20%. Duration: 5 minutes, Cooldown: 1 hour.


    ...


    The "Ring of Bloodwing ughterer" not only provides the wearer with three types of attribute enhancements but also offers a 5% life steal!


    "Life Steal" is a very rare attribute, akin to the "Cooldown Reduction" for magus sses, "Critical Hit Rate" for physical sses, and other such properties.


    Awakers with the "Life Steal" attribute can absorb a portion of their target''s HP as their own when they inflict damage.


    For John, a magus with no innate healing abilities, this undoubtedly greatly enhances his sustainability in battle.


    Moreover, the "Ring of Bloodwing ughterer"es with an active "Bloodthirst" skill!


    This skill bears a resemnce to the "Berserk" ability of the One-Eyed Lich King''s Furious Bracers, also a melee ss skill, and they should be stackable.


    Although John is of the magus ss, the One-Eyed Lich King''s Furious Bracers provided significant assistance in his recent battle, so he''s not averse to such skills.


    As long as they enhance his strength, he wouldn''t hesitate to use equipment or skills from melee or even support sses.


    In a world where power reigns supreme and only the fittest survive, strength is the ultimate truth.


    After equipping the Ring of Bloodwing ughterer and ensuring no other equipment or items were missed, John proceeded to the nextyer of the Heritage Trial.


    This was the finalyer of the "Crimson Demon Heritage Trial."


    Whether he could find the Crimson Demon''s treasure hinged on this moment!