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

North of Mianzhu City, on the official road, Lü Bu reined in his Red Hare.

He looked up and saw that the city wall of Mianzhu was tall, with various barbicans, ramparts, and gate towers. The guards on the city wall were dense and the defense was strict, with rolling logs and stones readily available.

The moat was also wide and deep, making it difficult for heavy siege equipment to reach the base of the city walls. Moreover, the foundation stones at the base of the city walls sloped slightly outwards, making it easy for ladders to slip when placed on the walls.

"It is indeed a fortified city, no wonder," Lü Bu said to Cao Xing. "Order that we set up camp two miles from the city. Set up many flags and bonfires to create the appearance of a long-term siege."

Cao Xing asked, puzzled, "Isn't our lord going to attack the pass?"

"No rush," Lü Bu laughed. "We'll take the city tonight."

"Tonight?" Cao Xing was stunned.

Lu Bu offered no further explanation and spurred his horse back to his lines.

The army began to set up camp, erecting fences, digging trenches, and setting up tents. Smoke rose from the chimneys as the soldiers cooked their meals—rations were taken from Lü Bu's granary and distributed directly to each camp.

On the city wall, Yan Yan saw that the enemy had set up camp and did not immediately attack Mianzhu, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"It seems Lü Bu intends to wage a long siege," he said to Li Yan. "Order each camp to take turns on duty to conserve arrows. Also, light more torches at night to guard against enemy night attacks."

"Your humble servant understands."

Li Yan accepted the order and left, but a vague unease lingered in his heart.

Having broken through Jianmen Pass in a single day, why would Lü Bu willingly allow a prolonged siege and waste time? He must have a cunning plan.

However, he didn't know how Lü Bu would attack the city, so he could only order his soldiers to be on guard. If the attack was carried out in a normal manner, he was confident that he could hold the city.

Night falls.

The imperial camp was brightly lit with bonfires, and patrolling soldiers came and went in an endless stream.

Inside the central command tent, Lü Bu summoned Zhang Xiu, Cao Xing, and Xu Huang. He instructed Cao Xing to gather the main force at the north gate and wait for them to open the city gate before the main force entered the city. Zhang Xiu and Xu Huang were to follow him and lie in ambush outside the west gate, waiting for his torch signal. At that time, they would rush into the city and then attack the north gate to open it and welcome Cao Xing's main force into the city.

Upon hearing Lü Bu's order, the three generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

"My lord," Cao Xing couldn't help but ask, "the west gate is tightly closed, and there's a barbican separating us. How can we break in?"

Lu Bu took out a map of Mianzhu City from his robes and pointed to a section of the western city wall's barbican, saying, "Tonight at midnight, I will breach the city from here. After the city falls, I will use torches as a signal. When you see the signal, rush over immediately."

Zhang Xiu looked closely at the location; it was on the side of the west city wall, about a hundred paces from the main west gate.

"Does the lord intend to carve out a gate in the city wall, just like he did with the stone steps he dug in the rocky hill at Jianmen Pass?" he asked.

Lu Bu nodded slightly and said, "That's right. You all lie in ambush outside. If I can open the gate and send out a torch signal, then you rush over, storm into the city, and establish a stronghold at Mianzhu."

Zhang Xiu immediately understood. However, Xu Huang and Cao Xing had not personally witnessed Lü Bu emptying the stone mountain and did not know much about it. But they knew that Lü Bu had the divine ability to store grain and acted in strange ways, so they gladly obeyed the order.

As midnight approaches, the night deepens, the moon hides, and the stars are few.

Lu Bu changed into a black outfit with light armor over it. He didn't ride a horse, but quietly left the camp and circled around to the west of the city.

Torches lined the walls of Mianzhu, and the garrison patrolled back and forth, but their attention was mostly focused on the north—the direction of Lü Bu's main army camp.

The west side is relatively quiet.

Under the cover of night, Lü Bu sneaked to the moat, chose a spot far from the city wall and covered by weeds, quietly released a makeshift bridge of suitable length from his storage space, laid it across the moat, crawled across the bridge, and stealthily made his way to the city wall.

Upon arriving at the foot of the city wall, looking up, one sees a wall four zhang high, its bricks and stones perfectly aligned.

Although there were patrolling soldiers and torches on the city wall, the torchlight was limited in the pitch-black night and could not reach the base of the wall. Moreover, the soldiers were listless in the latter half of the night and their attention was focused on the north, so they were not very vigilant on the west.

Lu Bu took a deep breath and placed his palm on the cold, rough brick wall.

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

In my mind, I pictured the shape of an archway: two zhang high, one and a half zhang wide, with a semi-circular top and a doorway more than five zhang deep—this was the thickness of the base of the city wall.

A thought crossed my mind.

Swish!

A large section of the wall in front of us vanished instantly!

A neat archway suddenly appears, with smooth, mirror-like edges and neatly cut brickwork.

The doorway was pitch black, leading into the city.

Because of the arched structure, the weight of the upper city wall was distributed to both sides and went underground, so it did not collapse.

Lu Bu successfully carved out a doorway at the base of the city wall.

Although he had expected it, Lu Bu was still overjoyed when the operation actually succeeded.

He stepped into the archway.

On the other side of the archway is a quiet alley in Mianzhu city.

It was late at night, and the alley was deserted.

Just as he was about to give the signal, a patrol of soldiers suddenly emerged from the corner of the alley.

Ten Shu soldiers, armed with knives and spears, were led by a squad leader.

The two sides met face to face. The squad leader was stunned for a moment, and then he saw a big hole in the city wall behind Lü Bu!

"Enemy attack!"

The squad leader was very alert and immediately shouted, but Lü Bu had already taken out a spear from his spatial storage and thrown it.

The spear was thrown, hitting the squad leader squarely in the face and killing him.

At the same time, Lü Bu took out his halberd from the divine warehouse, rushed forward, and swept the halberd shaft horizontally, sending three Shu soldiers flying. They crashed into the wall, and the sound of bones cracking could be clearly heard.

The remaining six were terrified and tried to retreat, but Lü Bu unleashed his halberd technique, sweeping away leaves like a whirlwind.

In less than three breaths, all ten patrolmen fell to the ground and died.

But the commotion had alerted those nearby.

"Enemy attack!"

"Something's happened on the west side of the wall!"

The gong rang out, sharp and piercing.

Lu Bu remained calm and took out three specially made rockets from the divine warehouse, nocked them, and fired them out of the city.

"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—"

Three rockets streaked across the night sky, flew over the city walls, and headed west of the city, standing out conspicuously in the darkness.

Outside the city, on the banks of the Fu River.

Seeing the fire arrows launched from inside the city, Zhang Xiu pointed his longsword and shouted, "My lord, you've succeeded! Charge!"

Five hundred Imperial Guard heavy cavalry leaped from the riverbank, crossed the wooden bridge left by Lü Bu, rushed across the moat, and charged toward the breach in the city wall.

Almost simultaneously, Cao Xing's troops outside the North Gate launched a feint attack, with thunderous drums and blazing fires to draw the attention of the main defending force.

Inside the city, more and more garrison troops surged toward the west gate.

The first to arrive were a group of Shu soldiers from a nearby barracks, about fifty men, led by a squad leader.

"Block the breach!" the captain roared. "Archers, fire!"

Just as a dozen archers nocked their arrows, Lü Bu retrieved a large shield from the divine storehouse and held it up in front of him.

Arrows clattered and struck the shield.

Then, Lü Bu emerged from behind his shield and fired three arrows in quick succession, killing the three archers instantly.

At this moment, Zhang Xiu's Imperial Guards from outside the city had already rushed into the archway.

The clanging of armor and the thunderous sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Zhang Xiu took the lead, his spear swift as a dragon, piercing down two Shu soldiers who blocked his path.

"The imperial army has entered the city; those who surrender will not be killed!" Zhang Xiu shouted.

The heavy cavalry charged into the streets like tigers among sheep.

The Shu soldiers were mostly lightly armored infantry, how could they withstand the charge of heavy cavalry? They were scattered in an instant, with more than ten killed or wounded.

The leader of the team tried to organize a resistance, but Zhang Xiu killed him with a single spear thrust.