Transmigrating to the Three Kingdoms as Lu Bu: I Have a Pseudo-Apocalypse System

March 27th, at 1-3 PM.

North of Jianmen Pass, at the end of Jinniu Road.

Lu Bu reined in his Red Hare, looked up, and couldn't help but gasp.

Ahead, nestled between two mountains, stood a formidable pass. The pass walls, about five zhang high, were built of massive stones, their greyish-white surfaces gleaming coldly in the sunlight. The crenellations on the walls were densely packed, and the figures of the guards could be vaguely seen.

The fortress is located halfway up the mountain. To the north is a long, steep slope, only three zhang wide, paved with bluestone that has been worn smooth by time. From the bottom of the slope to the gate, the vertical drop is more than thirty zhang, with a slope of over forty degrees.

Given such terrain, the difficulty of attacking uphill is self-evident.

Cao Xing rode forward and whispered, "My lord, it's even more treacherous than we expected. Cavalry can't charge up this slope, and even if infantry climb it, a single rolling log can knock down a whole bunch of them."

Xu Huang squinted and looked around: "Where is the catapult? The bottom of the slope is at least two hundred paces from the wall, and the angle of elevation is too great, so the stones can't be thrown up."

Zhang Xiu gripped his spear tightly: "We have no choice but to launch a direct attack. Select the vanguard, clad in heavy armor and carrying large shields, and proceed cautiously step by step."

Yang Ang pointed to both sides of the fortress: "My lord, please look, is that hill on the east side Yingpanzui?"

Following his gaze, everyone saw a mountain peak rising abruptly about three hundred paces east of the pass, its summit towering twenty or thirty feet above the pass wall, just as Zhang Ren had depicted.

Lü Bu nodded: "Indeed. Order the entire army to set up camp two miles from the bottom of the slope, and not to approach the pass within range of arrows. Cao Xing, you lead the cavalry to keep watch and prevent the garrison from attacking the camp; Xu Huang, supervise the infantry to cut down trees and build fortifications; Zhang Xiu, come with me to find the path leading to Yingpanzui."

"promise!"

The army set up camp on the spot, and Lü Bu, with only Zhang Xiu and ten personal guards, led two surrendered Shu soldiers as guides, around to the eastern mountains and forests.

The two surrendered soldiers were originally Zhang Ren's subordinates and were familiar with the terrain. One of them pointed deep into the dense forest: "Lord Jin, the entrance to the path is just ahead, but there must be scouts there. We usually patrol the mountains, and a team passes by every half hour."

Lu Bu waved for everyone to be quiet, dismounted, and walked. He activated his full 130-point perception, and could hear every rustle of grass within a hundred feet.

Sure enough, after walking less than a hundred paces, they heard faint breathing sounds coming from the woods.

Lu Bu gave Zhang Xiu a wink, and Zhang Xiu understood, silently making his way to the bushes to the left. A few moments later, the bushes rustled, and Zhang Xiu dragged out an unconscious Shu scout, his mouth stuffed with a strip of cloth and his hands and feet bound.

"Keep going."

After walking another two miles, a hidden path appeared before them, only two feet wide, concealed by vines. Without the guide's direction, it would have been impossible to find.

The guide whispered, "Go up this road for about a mile, and you'll reach the bottom of Yingpanzui Cliff."

The group walked slowly and quietly until they finally reached the foot of the cliff.

Lu Bu looked up and saw that the cliffs of Yingpanzui were almost vertical, with pine trees growing tenaciously in the crevices of the rock face.

"You wait here," Lü Bu said to Zhang Xiu. "I will climb up the rock and lower the rope before you go up."

Zhang Xiu hurriedly said, "My lord, you mustn't! It's too dangerous! Let me do it!"

Lu Bu looked at the almost vertical mountain wall and shook his head: "None of you are up to it, I'll take the lead."

With Lü Bu's perception, strength, physical ability, reaction time, and so on, he was confident that he could climb up the rock.

During the argument, a squad leader of the personal guards suddenly said, "My lord, I have an idea, but I don't know if I should say it."

"Speak," Lü Bu said.

The squad leader pointed to the mountain rocks and said, "Although the lord's divinely bestowed granary cannot hold living things, these rocks are inanimate objects. Could we simply carve out stone steps directly from the mountain?"

Lu Bu was taken aback.

The sergeant continued, "I witnessed our lord building the plank road on the Baoxie Road. He was able to store and place the timber beams and pillars precisely using his divine storage device. Although this mountain rock is stone, it is not a living thing, so it should also be able to be stored in the divine storage device. If our lord were to carve out stone steps from inside the cliff face, one by one, wouldn't that open up a path up the mountain? At that time, everyone would not need to take any risks, and it would be much more discreet than rock climbing!"

Upon hearing this method, Lü Bu was momentarily stunned.

He had never actually thought of doing that, perhaps just as people of this era never considered turning a single-sided stirrup into a double-sided one; their thinking was stuck in a fixed pattern.

I've tried it before, and any living things that are visible to the naked eye, including plants and animals, cannot be put into the storage space (bacteria that are not visible to the naked eye are not included).

But Yingpanzui is a rocky mountain, with hard rocks beneath the surface soil. And rocks are inanimate objects, so theoretically it should be possible!

"This method might work!" A glint flashed in Lü Bu's eyes.

He immediately walked to the cliff face and reached out to touch the cold, rough rock surface. It felt hard; it was solid bluestone.

Lu Bu held his breath and focused his mind, sketching out a rectangular area in his mind that was about five feet long, three feet wide, and ten feet high—the perfect size to make a step. He had an idea and tried to collect it.

Swish!

The stone vanished into thin air and entered the storage space!

A perfectly rectangular cavity suddenly appeared in the mountainside, its cut clean and smooth, as if carved by the finest stonemason. The cavity was ten feet high, three feet wide, and five feet long, just the right size for a person to stand inside.

"It's done!" Zhang Xiu exclaimed softly.

Ten bodyguards and two guides also showed surprise on their faces.

Lu Bu was overjoyed, a smile playing on his lips. This method was far safer and more discreet than rock climbing, and it would be completely silent, without alerting the soldiers stationed on the mountaintop.

He immediately followed suit, placing a second stone slab of the same size slightly above the first step. The two slabs were placed staggered to form two steps.

Then comes the third level, the fourth level...

Lu Bu scooped up the mountainside in a zigzag pattern, removing stone slabs.

Later, considering the issue of load-bearing capacity, the top was made into an arch shape to prevent collapse.

When he encounters places where there are weeds, small tree roots (which are living things), or earthworms in the soil among the rocks, he will adjust his position slightly, bypassing or reducing the area he collects.

Sometimes only half a stone is taken, leaving the other side with soil, but this does not affect passage.

A spiral staircase was carved out of the mountainside, each step about ten feet high, five feet long, and three feet wide, large enough for a person to stand steadily. The steps are hidden inside the rock wall and cannot be seen from the outside.

Zhang Xiu, accompanied by two guides and ten personal guards, followed Lü Bu as they ascended the mountain, step by step.

The moonlight was blocked by the mountain, making the steps dim, but Lü Bu took out several oil lamps from his storage space and distributed them. The flickering lamplight illuminated the bluestone steps. The group walked slowly, trying not to make a sound.