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

After carving stones into steps for about fifteen minutes, Lü Bu estimated that he had risen more than thirty zhang and was close to the top of the mountain.

He stopped, signaling everyone to be quiet, then closed his eyes and focused his mind, unleashing his full 130 points of perception.

The mountain wind howled, insects chirped, and the distant fortress faintly echoed with the footsteps and whispers of patrolling soldiers... a cacophony of sounds filled my ears.

Lu Bu carefully discerned the movements on the mountaintop and quickly pinpointed the source of the disturbance.

There were breathing sounds from about seven or eight people, some deep and some shallow. Two of them were breathing shallowly, as if they were active; the other five or six were breathing deeply, probably sleeping. There were also faint creaking sounds from the wooden structure in the wind, and the crackling sounds of torches burning.

Lu Bu opened his eyes and said to Zhang Xiu in a low voice, "There is a wooden house on the top of the mountain with about eight soldiers. Two of them seem to be on night duty, and the rest are asleep. We will go up from the back."

He determined the direction by the sound, then climbed more than a dozen steps, the last one located behind a rock at the edge of the mountaintop. The area was covered in bushes, providing perfect cover.

Lu Bu peeked out first to observe.

Under the moonlight, the mountaintop was about four or five zhang square, and there was indeed a wooden house in the center, with two torches stuck outside.

Two Shu soldiers, carrying spears, leaned against the wall of the wooden house, yawning occasionally, their eyes mainly fixed on the north—the direction where Lü Bu's army was encamped outside the pass.

They never imagined that the enemy would climb up the cliff behind them.

The sound of snoring came from inside the wooden house.

Lu Bu gestured to Zhang Xiu, and the two silently leaped up the mountaintop and lay in ambush behind the bushes. Six personal guards followed one after another, each drawing their weapons.

"I'll take care of the one on the left, you take care of the one on the right," Lu Bu whispered to Zhang Xiu.

Zhang Xiu nodded.

The two darted out like cheetahs!

Hearing the commotion, the two Shu soldiers on night watch turned around to find two dark figures already before them. Lü Bu covered the mouth of the soldier on the left with one hand, while his other hand slashed his throat with a short sword; almost simultaneously, Zhang Xiu subdued the soldier on the right, his dagger plunging into his heart from under his ribs. The two men collapsed to the ground without even uttering a groan.

Lu Bu pushed open the door of the wooden house.

Six Shu soldiers slept side by side inside the room, with straw mats on the floor and weapons leaning against the wall. Snoring filled the air.

Lü Bu and Zhang Xiu darted in like ghosts, their blades flashing. In less than three breaths, all six men died in their sleep, without even having a chance to open their eyes.

The entire process was clean and efficient, without making any noise that alerted those inside the pass.

"Search for any letters or maps," Lü Bu ordered.

The guards quickly searched the cabin and the body, finding only some everyday items and a few routine patrol logs, but no important military intelligence.

Lu Bu stepped out of the wooden hut and surveyed the terrain of the mountaintop. Just as Zhang Ren had said, it was about five zhang square, with a relatively flat surface, though overgrown with weeds.

With a thought, he directly stored the entire wooden house into his storage space—the wooden house was an inanimate object, so it could be stored away. Instantly, a large area on the mountaintop became clear.

Then, Lü Bu released two large catapults from his storage space.

Then, Lü Bu released round stone projectiles, each weighing about thirty catties.

In just a few dozen breaths, the once empty mountaintop was transformed into a complete siege position.

"We'll rest here tonight." Lü Bu then set out several more tents and some dry rations and water. "We'll take turns on guard duty, conserve our energy, and break through the pass tomorrow."

"promise!"

The following day, March 28th.

As dawn broke, the morning drums sounded inside Jianmen Pass.

The defending general, Wu Yi, looked haggard, with bloodshot eyes.

Yesterday, Lü Bu's army arrived outside the pass. Although they did not attack immediately, their imposing military bearing already made him tremble with fear.

"What are the enemy's movements outside the pass?" Wu Yi asked the scout.

"Reporting to the general, they are still in the camp and have not been moved. However..." The scout hesitated for a moment.

"But what?"

"The beacon tower at Yingpanzui was not lit to report that everything was alright this morning as usual, and the brothers sent to investigate have not returned either."

Wu Yi's heart tightened.

Yingpanzui was the highest point in Jianmen Pass, equipped with a beacon tower and sentry post, where several soldiers were stationed to monitor enemy activity outside the pass. A signal fire was lit three times daily to indicate peace. If enemy activity was detected, a smoke signal was lit.

Two quarters past Chenshi (7:40 AM) today, yet no beacon fires have been seen.

"Send another team to investigate!" Wu Yi ordered.

Twenty Shu soldiers followed the path up the mountain, but they were stunned when they reached the halfway point – the path leading to Yingpanzui was now completely blocked by huge stone blocks.

"Oh no, Yingpanzui has been occupied!" the captain in charge exclaimed in horror.

Looking up, I could vaguely see figures moving around on the hilltop of Yingpanzui, and what was that? A catapult?

The captain scrambled back to the pass to report.

Upon hearing the news, Wu Yi personally climbed the east corner tower of the pass to look towards Yingpanzui.

Upon seeing this, his face turned deathly pale.

At the top of Yingpanzui Mountain, two huge catapults stand prominently! Next to them are piles of stone projectiles, and more than ten soldiers are busy at work.

"How is that possible? How did they get up there?" Wu Yi's voice trembled.

Yingpanzui is surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides, with only a narrow path leading into the pass. There were no sounds of battle last night; did Lü Bu's army fly up the cliff?

They even brought up catapults?

The lieutenant said in a trembling voice, "General, the camp is more than thirty feet higher than the city wall. If we launch stone projectiles from there..."

Before the words were even finished, the catapult on the mountaintop started moving.

"put--"

With a faint command, the counterweight box crashed down, the casting rod was raised, and two 30-pound stone balls soared into the air, tracing arcs as they swooped down from the height!

The Shu soldiers on the wall looked up in alarm.

The stone projectiles fell at extremely high speeds, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound.

"Get out of the way—" Wu Yi roared.

After accelerating for hundreds of steps and tens of feet, the first stone projectile struck the middle of the north gate wall with a loud "boom"!

A large section of the battlement collapsed, sending debris flying and pebbles tumbling down. One soldier was smashed into a bloody pulp, while two or three others were hit by flying debris and fell to the ground screaming in agony.

The second stone bullet flew over the gate wall and landed inside the gate, hitting a barracks. The wooden wall collapsed with a crash, and dust flew everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, a second and third round of stone projectiles followed.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—"

Stones rained down, targeting the northern gate wall and city tower.

A projectile launched from a high vantage point is several times more powerful than one launched from the ground.

Each time a stone hit, the wall vibrated, bricks and stones shattered, and debris flew out like blades.

The Shu soldiers had nowhere to hide.

The wall was only so wide; even if you hid behind the barricades, you would be injured by the shockwaves and hit by flying stones when covered by the stone projectiles.

"Oh, my leg!"

"Help! The city wall is collapsing!"

Screams, wails, and the sound of bricks and stones shattering mingled together.

In less than fifteen minutes, more than a hundred people were killed or wounded on the north side of the gate, their blood staining the bricks red.