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

Cao Ren brought out a silk scroll and presented it to Cao Cao. Cao Cao unfolded it and saw the following text:

"Grand Marshal Lü Bu, Recorder of the Imperial Secretariat, Commandant of the Capital Region, and Duke of Jin, hereby proclaims to the soldiers and civilians of Pengcheng: Cao Cao's troops have plundered and cannibalized human flesh, an act against all reason. Now the royal army has arrived to mourn the people and punish the guilty. You are given one hour to open the city gates and surrender, or you will be spared death. If you resist stubbornly, on the day the city falls, Cao Cao's entire clan and all his traitorous officers and generals will be exterminated!"

The inscription at the end bears the seal of the Duke of Jin.

Cao Cao's hand trembled, and the silk scroll fell to the ground.

From beneath the city walls, Lü Bu's voice boomed like thunder:

"Cao Mengde! You eat human flesh, how can you face the elders of Pengcheng? How can you face the people of Han? Today I am acting on the Emperor's decree to punish your treason and execute your tyranny! People of Pengcheng, listen up: whoever presents Cao Cao's head will be rewarded with a thousand gold pieces and enfeoffed as a marquis; whoever opens the city gates and surrenders will be pardoned and rewarded for their service; whoever aids the rebels and resists will have their entire family executed on the day the city falls!"

The sound carried far and wide, reaching all the soldiers guarding the city walls.

Many soldiers were pale-faced, looking at each other with fear in their eyes.

Cao Cao clung to the battlements, struggling to stay upright, and roared, "Lü Bu, you are a traitor who holds the emperor hostage to command the other lords! I, Cao Cao, have served the Han Dynasty faithfully, fighting against Dong Zhuo and the Yellow Turbans! Heaven and earth bear witness! If you want war, then let us fight! Let's see if you can break through my Pengcheng!"

Lü Bu laughed loudly, pointing his halberd forward: "Then I'll show you—what the might of Heaven truly is!"

The command flag was waved down.

Hundreds of catapults were launched simultaneously, and stone projectiles rained down on the city walls like meteors.

The Battle of Pengcheng thus began.

Facing Cao Cao, the biggest boss of the Three Kingdoms, Lu Bu, as a time traveler, naturally had to take him very seriously.

After hundreds of catapults launched their attacks in unison, suppressing the catapults, ballistae, and other counter-attack facilities in Pengcheng, Lü Bu did not order an attack. Instead, he moved closer to the city wall, within a hundred paces, and continued to release the catapults and ballistae that had been produced and prepared in advance from his storage space, filling all the open spaces where catapults and ballistae could be placed.

Thus, within a range of one hundred to three hundred paces outside the north gate of Pengcheng, two hundred and thirty catapults and one hundred and twenty ballistae were densely arranged.

This scale was unprecedented in any siege battle Lu Bu had ever fought since his transmigration.

"Cao Mengde, today I'll show you what a saturation attack really is," Lü Bu muttered to himself.

He raised his right hand and swung it down sharply.

"Catapult—fire!"

"put--!"

The messenger roared and waved the command flag.

Almost simultaneously, the counterweight boxes of 230 catapults crashed down, the launching rods rose, and more than 200 stone projectiles roared into the air.

The scene was like a swarm of locusts darkening the sun.

The stone projectiles traced high arcs, flew over the city walls, and crashed into the city.

The first wave of attacks did not target the defenders on the city walls, but rather the catapult positions and ballista platforms inside the city.

Cao Cao had been managing Pengcheng for half a year, and naturally he had also deployed counter-attack equipment on the city walls. There were more than twenty catapults and more than thirty crossbows on the north wall, scattered on three high platforms.

Lu Bu intends to use the most violent methods to completely destroy these counter-attacking forces.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—"

Stones rained down.

A stone projectile weighing about thirty pounds struck the high platform on the west side of the city wall, smashing the boom of a catapult in two, sending splinters flying. Five or six Cao soldiers operating the machine were impaled by flying splinters and tumbled off the platform screaming in agony.

Another stone bullet flew over the city wall and crashed into a barracks inside the city, causing the earthen wall to collapse and dust to rise.

The third stone projectile accurately struck a ballista in the middle of the city wall, breaking the arm and deforming the winch. Seven or eight crossbowmen nearby were either killed or injured.

In just the first volley, nearly 30% of the counter-attack equipment on the city wall was destroyed.

Cao Cao watched from the city tower, his eyes wide with fury.

"Quickly, fight back! Fight back!" he roared hoarsely.

The remaining catapults and ballistae on the city walls began to fight back, firing stones and crossbow bolts towards the outside of the city.

However, Cao Cao's army had too few weapons, and their range was not as good as Lü Bu's army's new counterweight catapults.

More than twenty stone projectiles were launched, most of which missed their target, with only three or four hitting Lu Bu's army formation and causing more than ten casualties.

Meanwhile, the second volley of crossbow bolts from Lü Bu's army had arrived, killing several of the defenders who were trying to peek out from the city walls.

Immediately afterwards, the catapults unleashed another barrage of 230 stones at the central and eastern sections of the city wall.

"Get out of the way—!"

Cao Ren ran and roared on the city wall.

But there was nowhere to hide.

Stones struck the crenellations, causing bricks and stones to crumble; they struck the parapets, causing the walls to collapse; they struck the crowd, sending flesh and blood flying.

Just as a captain raised his command flag to organize the archers to retaliate, a giant crossbow bolt suddenly flew by, barely grazing his left shoulder. His entire arm, along with half of his shoulder, was torn apart. He stared wide-eyed, screamed, and fell to the ground, terrifying his comrades around him.

Elsewhere, five Cao soldiers were hiding behind a stack when a stone bullet pierced through the opening. Three of them were instantly crushed into a bloody pulp, and two others were struck in the head by a flying stone, their brains splattering out.

Blood stained the city walls.

The third round, the fourth round, the fifth round...

The catapults and ballistae continued their attack relentlessly.

Lu Bu not only suppressed the city walls, but also extended his attack to the streets and houses behind the city walls.

Stone projectiles crashed into the city like meteorites.

A stone hit a house thirty paces from the city wall. The earthen wall collapsed and the roof beam broke. More than ten Cao army archers hiding inside were buried, and their screams were drowned out by the roar of the collapsing bricks and stones.

Another stone rolled down the street, crushing three running Cao soldiers along the way. The sound of bones breaking could be clearly heard. The stone finally stopped after crashing into a courtyard wall.

The streets were littered with rolling stones and broken crossbow bolts.

Cao Jun wanted to transfer troops from other city gates to reinforce the north gate, but was severely hindered by these "roadblocks".

A reinforcement team of about two hundred men arrived from East Street and had just turned into North Street when they encountered three rolling stone projectiles.

The military commander in charge urgently ordered them to take cover, but seven or eight people were still knocked down by the stones, their legs broken, and they lay on the ground groaning in pain.

"Don't go down the main street, go down the alley!" the military commander roared.

However, the alley was narrow, and the large group of people moved slowly. By the time they finally reached the vicinity of the North Gate, the defenses on the city wall had been largely destroyed.

Cao Cao, who was on the city wall, had retreated into the city tower.

Looking out through the arrow slit, he saw the hellish scene outside, his hands gripping the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles white.

"My lord, this cannot continue." Xun You's face was pale. "Lu Bu has too many catapults. Our army has already lost 80% of its equipment, and our archers dare not show their faces. If we bombard them for another half hour, the north wall will surely be in danger."

Xi Zhicai coughed violently, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth: "My lord, quickly get off the city wall, it's too dangerous here."

Cao Cao gritted his teeth: "If I retreat, the morale of the army will surely collapse!"

"My lord!" Cao Ren rushed into the city wall, his shoulder armor covered in stone chips. "The eastern section of the parapet has collapsed by three zhang (approximately 10 meters), and more than thirty brothers have died! Continuing to defend it will only be a pointless suicide!"

Just then, another stone hit the eaves of the city tower.

"Boom—"

Tiles, beams, and dust fell in a flurry, causing the city gate to shake violently.

Two guards rushed forward and shielded Cao Cao with their shields. A piece of wood hit the shield with a dull thud.

Cao Cao finally made up his mind: "Alright, let's take the city walls first. But the north gate cannot be lost! Zilian, you lead a thousand men of the Sword and Shield Battalion to guard the back of the city gate. If Lü Bu breaks through, you must defend it to the death!"

Cao Hong clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys!"

"Zihe (Cao Chun), you lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and await orders inside the barbican. If the city gate falls, charge out and drive Lü Bu out!"

"promise!"

"The rest of you, follow me down the city!"