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

As Chunyu Qiong asked in alarm, his personal guards rushed into the tent, their faces ashen: "A bridge has appeared fifteen miles upstream! Lü Bu's cavalry has crossed the river and is charging towards our camp!"

"What?" Chunyu Qiong was struck dumb. "A bridge? What bridge?"

"N-no, I don't know!" the guard stammered. "By the time the patrol found it, the bridge was already built! Lü Bu had at least five thousand elite cavalry crossed the bridge and were charging towards the camp!"

Chunyu Qiong felt ice-cold all over.

He took every precaution he could, guarding against ferries, pontoon bridges, sneak attacks, and all the ferry crossings, and even arranged patrol teams. But he never expected that Lü Bu could build a bridge across the swampy river in such a short time that could be used by cavalry. The patrol teams couldn't even send out a warning!

Is this something that can be done by human power?

"Quickly! Sound the bugle and assemble! All troops prepare for battle!" Chunyu Qiong roared hoarsely, hurriedly donning his armor.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

The mournful sound of bugles echoed throughout the camp.

The sleeping soldiers of Yuan's army were awakened and rushed out of their tents in a panic.

"What happened?"

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

"Get your weapons quickly!"

The camp was in chaos.

Chunyu Qiong, fully armed, mounted his horse with a sword in hand, and charged out of the central command tent under the protection of his personal guards.

It was already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), and the sky was still dark, but the east was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

Outside the camp, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves could be heard, approaching from afar like rolling thunder.

"Quickly, archers up the stockade walls, catapults turn around, and ballistae aim at the northern official road!" Chunyu Qiong commanded hoarsely.

But Yuan's army was caught off guard and had no time to prepare for battle.

The catapults and ballistae were originally aimed at the river, but now they need to be turned around. The bases need to be disassembled and reinstalled, which will take at least half an hour to complete.

The archers hurriedly climbed the stockade wall, but it was too dark to see the enemy's position.

"Light the torches to illuminate the area outside the village!" Chunyu Qiong urgently ordered.

Torches were lit and thrown out of the village, and rockets were launched, illuminating the distant night sky.

In the firelight, a dark mass of cavalry surged forward like a tide, with a crimson rider at the forefront, his general clad in golden armor and black robes—it was none other than Lü Bu!

"Lu Bu..." Chunyu Qiong gritted his teeth, "Fire the arrows! Fire the arrows!"

Archers on the stockade wall unleashed a hail of arrows.

But Lü Bu's cavalry suddenly stopped two hundred paces away.

Lu Bu raised his hand and waved it.

In an instant, hundreds of catapults appeared out of thin air in the open space in front of the camp!

These catapults were all made of hardwood covered with iron, with counterweights already filled with stones, and the launch bar raised, ready to fire at any time.

The soldiers of Jizhou were dumbfounded.

"Th-that is..."

"It appeared out of thin air!"

"A divinely bestowed granary! Lü Bu truly possesses a divinely bestowed granary!"

Panic spread like a plague.

Chunyu Qiong was also deathly pale, but he forced himself to remain calm and roared, "Don't panic, our army also has catapults..."

Before he finished speaking, Lü Bu waved his command flag.

"put!"

Hundreds of catapults were started simultaneously.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—"

Stone projectiles rained down on the camp like meteors.

The first wave of attacks focused on the village gate and the watchtowers on both sides.

A 30-pound stone hit the crossbeam of the village gate, sending wood chips flying, breaking the hinges, and causing the entire gate to collapse with a crash.

Another stone hit the western watchtower, breaking its pillars. The five archers on the watchtower screamed as they fell, their bones broken and tendons snapped.

The third stone bullet flew over the stockade wall and crashed into a tent in the camp, seriously injuring some of the seven or eight soldiers who had just gotten up.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" Chunyu Qiong retreated under the protection of his personal guards' shields.

But the camp is only so big, where can we hide in such a hurry?

Stones rained down, collapsing tents, smashing equipment, and killing or wounding countless soldiers.

Screams, wails, and cries mingled together, like a scene from hell.

After half an hour of relentless bombing, the camp was riddled with holes.

Three sections of the stockade wall collapsed, the stockade gate disappeared completely, the watchtower was destroyed, and the camp was littered with rolling stone projectiles and mutilated corpses.

Yuan's army's morale completely collapsed.

Many soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt down to beg for mercy; some fled in all directions, trying to climb over the stockade walls; others hid behind their dilapidated tents, trembling with fear.

Chunyu Qiong retreated to the vicinity of the central command tent under the desperate protection of his personal guards.

He looked around and saw that his soldiers had suffered heavy casualties, with fewer than a thousand able to fight.

Outside the camp, Lü Bu's army had already formed ranks, with cavalrymen standing at attention, exuding a murderous aura.

"General, surrender..." Lieutenant Zhao Rui, his face covered in blood, said in a trembling voice, "We can't win..."

"Shut up!" Chunyu Qiong roared. "I have received great favors from my lord; how could I surrender to traitors?"

He drew his sword, mounted his horse, and roared to the remaining soldiers, "Those willing to fight to the death with me, step forward!"

About two hundred guards stepped forward.

The remaining soldiers lowered their heads and remained silent.

Chunyu gave a bitter laugh: "Very well, very well, then I shall die on the battlefield to repay my lord!"

At that moment, Lü Bu's voice boomed from outside the camp, like thunder: "Chunyu Qiong, the situation is hopeless. Will you surrender?"

Chunyu Qiong rode out into battle, until he reached the breach in the stockade wall, where he stood fifty paces away from Lü Bu.

"Lü Bu, you traitor!" Chunyu Qiong hissed, "You hold the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords, bringing chaos and suffering to the world. How could I possibly surrender to you?"

Lü Bu said calmly, "Yuan Shao levies exorbitant taxes and forcibly conscripts able-bodied men, causing widespread suffering among the people of Ji Province. I am acting on the Emperor's decree to punish this traitor and to commemorate the people and punish the guilty. If you surrender, you can save your life, and your soldiers will also be spared."

"Pah!" Chunyu Qiong spat out a mouthful of blood. "If you want war, then war! Enough talk!"

Having said that, he spurred his horse and charged at Lü Bu with his sword.

Two hundred guards behind him also shouted in desperation and charged forward.

A hint of regret flashed in Lü Bu's eyes, but it vanished in an instant.

In chaotic times, everyone serves their own master. Chunyu Qiong was loyal to Yuan Shao and could be considered a hero, but since he chose to resist, the only option was to send him on his way.

Red Hare neighed and charged out like lightning.

The halberd pierced the morning mist with a sharp whistling sound.

Chunyu Qiong parried with his sword.

"clang--"

The clang of metal against metal was deafening.

Chunyu Qiong felt an irresistible force coming at him, his tiger's mouth split open, and his long sword flew out of his hand.

Lu Bu struck Chunyu Qiong's breastplate with his second halberd strike.

"puff--"

Chunyu Qiong spat out a mouthful of blood, flew backward, and crashed to the ground three zhang away.

He struggled to get up, but with several broken ribs and damaged internal organs, he was no longer able to fight.

Lu Bu rode forward, his halberd pointed at Chunyu Qiong's throat: "I'll ask you one last time, will you surrender?"

Chunyu Qiong gave a bitter laugh: "I... only wish for death."

"Very well." Lü Bu nodded. "Considering you are a loyal and righteous man, I will grant you a quick death."

The halberd swung down.

Blood splattered everywhere.

Chunyu Qiong's head rolled off, his eyes wide open, dying with his eyes still open.

Lü Bu used the tip of his halberd to lift the severed head, raising it high, his voice like thunder: "Chunyu Qiong is dead. The rest of you who surrender will be spared!"

The sound echoed throughout the camp.

Upon seeing their commander's head, the Yuan army soldiers who were still putting up a stubborn resistance lost their last shred of fighting spirit.

"Clang—clang—"

The sound of weapons hitting the ground rang out continuously.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

"Don't kill me!"

Lü Bu ordered Zhang Xiu and Yu Jin to collect the surrendered prisoners and take inventory of the battlefield.

In this battle, Yuan's army of over 10,000 soldiers defending the Anyangjin camp suffered over 1,000 deaths and over 2,000 wounded under the relentless bombardment of Lü Bu's catapults. The survivors all surrendered. Chunyu Qiong and more than ten generals were killed in battle, while Lü Bu's army suffered fewer than 100 casualties.

Subsequently, Yuan's troops surrendered at all the ferry crossings and camps on the north bank of the Huan River.

Lu Bu built another large bridge at Anyangjin. By daybreak, Hou Cheng's 3rd Army infantry had all crossed the river and settled in the Jizhou army camp on the north bank of Anyangjin.

The Huan River defense line was breached overnight.