Published at 23rd of June 2026 7:59 am

Chapter 219: Children Of The Broodfather

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Chapter 219: Children Of The Broodfather

The night was cold. A full moon lit the Freelands as far as the eye could see. Crumpled ruins of the old world lay exposed beneath the stars. Broken skyscrapers, shattered highways, and devastated districts that people once called home stretched across the landscape. Now only monsters lived here.

Monsters that knew better than to get close to his fire.

Seo-jin sat in front of a chunk of steel while a fire crackled nearby, sparks drifting into the night air. The broodspawn had gathered wood earlier, and with Pain around, getting a good fire going was as easy as snapping your fingers.

It had taken a while, but he'd finally finished breaking down all the changes to his system and the brood. His neck felt stiff from reading, and his eyes burned a bit from staring at panels, but the minor discomfort was more than worth it.

'A King shard...'

His mind danced with the possibilities the future would bring. Glorious, deadly possibilities.

[At least you don't have to slice a body part off anymore.]

'Never minded. Pain is fleeting, but I'll have to see if there's a difference between the old-fashioned way and this new one.'

The last thing he had read still hovered on his panel, its crimson light reflecting in his eyes. One of his new Class Skills, [Genesis Pit].

[Name // Genesis Pit]

[Type // Active/Passive]

[Category // Kingdom]

[Rank // S+]

[Evolve // No]

[Sub-Category // Brood Creation]

[Effects]

[Establish Brood Domain // Create a permanent Genesis Pit within Kingdom Territory.]

[Brood Production // Consume stored resources to generate Broodlings / Broodlings born from a Genesis Pit are Natural Subjects of the Kingdom.]

[Hunger // Genesis Pits require resources to function / Insufficient resources reduce birth rate, birth quality, and mutation potential.]

[Overfeeding // Excess resources may produce Exceptional Births.]

[Note]

[The Genesis Pit is the reproductive heart of the Kingdom. It must be fed living biomass or souls.]

[Kingdom Rank F // Nest]

[Maximum Genesis Pits // 1]

[Production Rate // 2 D-Rank Broodlings Per Hour]

[Requirements for E Rank // 500 Subjects // 10 Generals]

[Cost // Variable]

[Cast Time // 1 Hour]

[Time Active // Permanent]

[Cooldown // None]

[Life blooms from sunlight. Kingdoms bloom from graves.]

He couldn't wait to establish his first pit. If he had less control over himself, he'd have started one right where they sat, but creating a Genesis Pit was the first true step toward establishing his kingdom. He had no intention of taking that step out in the broken Freelands.

[The overfeeding part is quite interesting. You should task Synapse with experimenting.]

'Already planned to. Although I'll have to set up some safeguards. Synapse still needs to be watched.'

Swiping his panel away, he rolled the stiffness from his neck as he stood, joints giving a faint pop.

Next to him, Pain and Panic both jumped to attention, only relaxing again when Seo-jin signaled them to. He just wanted to stretch his legs a bit while he thought, the fire's warmth at his back doing little against the cool night air.

Looking at the two brothers, he couldn't help but feel satisfied. Both were complete opposites, but unlike Synapse, Seo-jin could trust these two beyond reproach. Without a doubt, his first two sons would give up their own lives without hesitation if Seo-jin so much as suggested it.

Though considering all of their qualities and their new racial upgrades, Seo-jin would have to be insane to waste his two most loyal sons.

Plus, they were going to be his first generals.

[Are you going to promote them all?]

'Not sure yet. For most of them it works, but General of a Legion doesn't fit them all.'

[Although he did well while you were away, I'd be worried about giving Synapse command of any troops. He's likely to sacrifice them all. Or use them for experiments.]

Looking over at the brainy broodspawn, Seo-jin watched Synapse work beneath the moonlight. He was currently slicing open the body of an elemental, a pink-skinned female with translucent prism wings. Her chest lay opened from sternum to stomach, and he was carefully removing her organs one by one, setting each aside with deliberate precision.

His racial evolution had brought one of the more interesting changes. The fluid-filled growth on his back was a space meant for storing and siphoning the intelligence of other brains. It was called [Parallel Intelligence]. The growth sat empty now, the membrane stretched tight and translucent, but Seo-jin was certain Synapse already had plans forming in that oversized head of his.

Watching his brother work, Snare stood over him with his staff planted beside him, observing everything without missing a single drop of blood.

[Good to see the hostility between them has cooled.]

'It was more of a one-sided hostility.'

Since Synapse's birth, Snare had been on edge around his younger brother. It was a pressure Seo-jin welcomed for Snare. His third-born had spent too long completely secure in his position. A little competition between brothers was healthy, both for personal growth and for keeping sharp.

At first, Seo-jin had thought the feelings were mutual, considering how Synapse seemed to undermine everything Snare said, but after watching them for a while, he quickly realized it was mostly Snare who had the issue. Synapse simply said whatever he thought with no filter and no concern for how it sounded.

Surprisingly, it was Synapse who did the most to ease the friction between them.

After being forced to lead the brood a couple times, Synapse finally realized that Snare's talents truly lay in strategy and command. He came to the conclusion that he had no people skills and no interest in leading the brood. Snare was ten times better suited for the role, so once his older brother returned, Synapse practically begged him never to leave again. He wasn't interested in managing a pack of homicidal lunatics.

That alone instantly ingratiated Synapse to Snare. Now Snare looked down at his younger sibling with a measure of approval as he worked, though there was still a trace of caution in his eyes. No matter his motivations or interests, Synapse remained the only Broodspawn capable of rivaling his intelligence.

[You should find ways to continue stoking the competition between them. Allowing them to cool too much would be a waste.]

Seo-jin's steps slowed for a second. A confused look crossed his face before it shifted into amusement.

'Thought you didn't like how I was raising them?'

[Can't argue with results. Considering the possible ways they could have developed, the brood has turned out rather impressive. Though Widow is a bit concerning. You need to find her a mate before things get complicated.]

Hearing Widow's name brought a strange tightness to Seo-jin's chest. He truly didn't know what to do with his only daughter. Right now she sat off by herself near the firelight, obviously pouting, but thankfully finally, after multiple rounds of buying her things to try on, she was clothed. Albeit in what amounted to a silk thin, black dress that was practically see through, but he had to pick his battles. Something he learned quick with his only daughter.

Her evolution had completely shocked him. With her advancement to Broodspawn, she had fully unlocked her mutation bloodline and inherited the abilities of the Spider Queen, with some slight variations of course.

Looking over at Widow, the second their eyes met, she harrumphed and turned away, drawing her knees to her chest and staring into the darkness beyond the fire.

She was basically grounded. It was the only solution he'd come up with besides locking her inside the growths. If he didn't do something, her Lust attribute would have created a disaster. He couldn't have his only daughter trying to sleep with her siblings.

Feeling the headache starting to creep back behind his eyes, he knew it was a problem he'd have to solve quickly. Especially considering the broodspawn now had the anatomy they needed, something they all found immensly interesting. Annoyingly so.

But Widow wasn't the only one to unlock their bloodline. Craning his neck, Seo-jin looked up at the mountain that was his son. Out of all of them, he couldn't help but look forward to Tomb's future the most. Imagining the colossal broodspawn smashing through an enemy's walls sent a faint shiver down his spine.

Though Tomb's size left a lot to be desired when it came to stealth, Seo-jin had already solved that issue. At least for now. It was still surprising to him how many useful things could be purchased through the Network.

"Broodfather?"

A small, gurgling voice sounded behind him. When Seo-jin turned, he found himself looking slightly upward.

"Need something, Bile?"

The massive broodspawn was practically vibrating in place. That annoyed Seo-jin a little. He'd thought Bile had gotten past this, at least while wearing his mask.

The bloodmask currently shifted wildly across his face, flowing between shapes too quickly to read. It made his expression impossible to decipher, though Bile's hunched posture and obvious nervousness more than made up for it.

"ItI... it's my fault Lynn died. I argued against Min. She wanted to avoid the humans, but I wanted to fight. It was my"

"Did I leave you in charge?"

Seo-jin's voice was even, but his eyes locked onto his son as he cut him off.

Shrinking even smaller than he already tried to be, Bile stared at the dirt beneath his feet as if he wanted to sink into it.

"No, Broodfather."

"Then why are you apologizing?"

"Iwellthe human died because of me."

"Baal killed Lynn, not you. And I left Min in charge, not you."

"Yes, Broodfather."

Bowing low, Bile nodded several times before turning to head back toward the fire. He had barely taken a step when Seo-jin's voice stopped him cold.

"Bile."

"Y-yes, Broodfather?"

"If I find out you make another idiotic choice, I will be forced to look into your education. Maybe Synapse can help me dissect your brain. Then we might discover the source of your stupidity."

Somehow, Bile's dark red skin went pale. He immediately dropped to his knees and slammed his face into the ground hard enough to kick up dust.

"I will do better! II swear!"

"Out of my sight."

"Yes, Broodfather!"

The bulk of Bile's body slimmed in a blink. One moment he was kneeling in front of Seo-jin, the next he flashed across the campsite and reappeared beside the fire, practically hiding behind Hex.

Although he meant it when he said Bile wasn't to blame for Lynn's death, Seo-jin was still irritated by the fact that his son had intended to charge an unknown enemy just to prove himself. Part of him wanted to beat some sense into the little bastard, but after reading what Bile had gained from evolving, he'd decided words would be more effective than fists. This time.

Bile's new racial ability was called [Adaptation]. It was a passive skill that allowed his body to shift according to his class role. Massive and powerful for his tank role, sleek and fast for damage dealing. Even now, the difference between his current frame and the one he'd worn earlier was obvious.

Throwing the slimmer Bile an elbow, the still blind-folded Hex growled as he shrugged his cowering brother off. Both faces on his torso immediately started cussing Bile out while Hex returned to strumming his guitar. Physically, Hex had gone through one of the more alarming transformations. Fortunately, Seo-jin had managed to examine the summons before they timed out, and he had to admit the racial skill was impressive.

Hex could now summon his own bandmates, each bringing unique buffs and debuffs that stacked on top of his own. And with each face in Hex's body providing its own voice, Seo-jin found himself genuinely curious about the kind of music his son would eventually create.

Staring at the brood as they sat around the fire, faces lit by the flickering orange glow, Seo-jin felt a strange calmness settle over him. Not a true calm...but the calm before a storm. One filled with anticipation.

Anticipation for immense amounts of violence.

"Come out."

Immediately, Fang stepped from a shadow stretched across the ground. His body seemed to emerge from the darkness itself, as though the shadow were a curtain he simply walked through.

Fang had gained the most from the recent growth of all his siblings. Being the lowest level, he absorbed the largest portion of the experience Seo-jin earned and reached Level Twenty. Not only had his stealth trait evolved to S+, but he had also gained his class: Phantom Curator.

Watching the way Fang's skin swallowed the firelight, Seo-jin felt like staring too long might drag his vision into it.

"I want you to stay close to Sin. I know you want to follow after Panic, but until I say otherwise, I want you to be Sin's shadow. If anything touches him, I will hold you responsible."

Bowing low, Fang moved with effortless grace. His voice was soft, carrying the faint hush of a ghost.

"As you wish, Broodfather. Your will is my own."

With Fang watching his back, Sin would have a hidden assassin serving as his bodyguard. Seo-jin couldn't think of a better start to his church.

His church.

The thought still felt a little ridiculous, but every time he looked at Sin, he knew the broodspawn was completely serious. Earlier, when Seo-jin had been shopping through the Network, Sin had only requested two things: a pen and a book. The broodspawn was determined to chronicle his father's story and lay the foundation for what would one day become their dark bible.

Seo-jin had to admit, the idea of convincing masses of people to worship him as a god made his crotch twitch slightly.

[A King and a god. Aren't we aiming high?]

'Why not? The more control, the better. Humans are desperate for answers to the unknown. Controlling them through religion should make things easier. Besides, the king and the god don't have to be the same person. At least not to the humans.'

[Rule by fear and by love?]

'No... just fear.'

It was time.

Turning toward the dark Freelands, Seo-jin's eyes blazed crimson as he activated [Soul Sight].

"Tomb!"

The entire brood jolted at the sudden shout. Instantly they felt it and, almost too eagerly, began moving toward their father.

Feeling it as well, Tomb rose to his feet. The ground trembled beneath his weight.

Watching his son tower higher against the moonlit sky, Seo-jin couldn't help but smile as Butcher's Wrath pushed through his forearms with a wet scrape of flesh.

"Start the hunt. Use Mountain Lord's Bellow."

A massive grin spread across Tomb's face, followed by a laugh so deep it seemed to vibrate through the earth itself. His aura ignited and began gathering around him. One thing Seo-jin had discovered about Tomb's racial skills was that they all required long cast times, but the power behind them more than made up for it.

<>Eight seconds after beginning, Tomb's aura had swelled into a towering pillar of bloodlight reaching into the heavens. He drew in a tremendous breath, his chest expanding as the surrounding air seemed to pull toward him.

Then he roared.

Shockwaves of sound tore through the Freelands directly in front of Tomb. The earth bucked and split, dirt and chunks of stone launching into the air as a cone of raw vocal violence erupted from the broodspawn.

It lasted only seconds.

But the effect was immediate.

A grin spread across Seo-jin's face as he tightened his grip on his cleavers. Heat from Pain brushed against his side while his view began lighting up with a flood of auras. Dots of green, yellow, and a few red flared to life across the horizon, stretching as far as he could see.

It was time to farm.

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