User blog comment:Laquearius/Astolfo vs Bellerophon/@comment-26395956-20180326141710

MD 33's Vote: "Flyin' Riders!"

Sword: Carolingian Sword vs Xiphos

No brainer, a sword from the medieval age beats that puny little sword Bellerophon has. Astolfo takes the edge. That Carolingian Sword is made of steel and has more range than the Xiphos. The Xiphos is just all around the worse weapon here. Bring up of its lower weight, and I'll bring up the greater damage the Carolingian Sword has.

Spears and Such: Golden Lance vs Dory

By my knowledge, lances are supposedly only used on horseback and is a bad weapon when used on ground. In a battle that doesn't really involve that many mounts, I usually give the edge to the spear. Thing is, this battle has two goddamn flying mounts and the folk that brings down his enemy from his mount will be the one with the advantage. In this case, Astolfo takes it. The spear is versatile, but do know that this battle starts out with their mounts.

With the lance's mystical property, Astolfo can outright knock down Bellerophon from his little horse no problem if it hits. The Dory is weaker than the lance, and if we involve the armor here, I doubt it'll do any damage to the hauberk. Well, little damage? Yes. Big damage? Not really. 'Sides, its head is made of bronze anyway, and the lance has a far superior material even without the damn mystical shit.

Special: Magic Horn vs Composite Bow

In an aerial battle, it's not that easy for a pilot to accurately pull off crackshots with the armed machine guns. In a mythological aerial battle, it's hard for Bellerophon to pull off crackshots with his bows while his horse flies around at breakneck speeds. Yeah sure, once they're on the ground that bow's gonna be useful. Thing is, Bellerophon only used it for a while 'fore his adventures ends.

Yeah, yeah. He can pull off crackshots apparently even with his horse jumpin' around. But can those arrows penetrate Astolfo's armor? Astolfo's horn on the other hand, can outright pull off a Sinestro on the Pegasus and knock out Bellerophon's balance. Sure, Belle himself ain't gonna be so scared of it. But the loudness the horn gives can disorient Bellerophon, even on ground. So, who takes the edge? Bellerophon, of course. You can count the armor and all, but in the end, a horn's a horn and a bow's a bow. The horn is only a set-up weapon, while the bow and arrow can kill. Edges are all about killing things, right?

Armor: Frankish Paladin Armor vs Light Mycenaean Panoply

You can mumble about mobility all day long, but in the end, the armor's main purpose is to provide protection. In this battle, it is no different, for Astolfo takes the definitive edge. Even if he uses that heavier armor you said, the bronze plating of that thing is inferior to Astolfo's armor of steel. Overall, the Frankish Paladin Armor gives more protection. Allowing your beast to fly as fast as they can with light armor is something, but both of those creatures have above-human strength, right? In other words, superhuman strength (Class 2, mon!). With that, those two creatures must be able to bear weight to both their masters and their armors equally. So yeah, in comes down to protection here, and the FPA is better due to its superior material.

Shield is no different here. The frankish shield also has superior material and bestows upon Astolfo with better protection than Belle's clumsy little bronze plates.

Mounts: Hippogriff vs Pegasus

An eagle-horse hybrid that can fly vs a horse that can fly? Yeah, Astolfo gets it again. Damn, Belle, what the hell's up with ye? Anyways, the Hippogriff's claws and beak give Astolfo greater options in offense. The Pegasus can do all but do ineffective bashes and kicks, while the Hippogriff can outright inflict deep wounds by doing some eagle pecks and talon runs (hint: try matching it with bombing run. This is not a joke).

X-Factors: Guy Who Took A Man's Sanity From the Moon vs Guy Who Screwed Over a Hybrid Abomination

Astolfo's wide variety of experience gives him an edge over Bellerophon's own, with him having engaged in wars and fighting other beasts. The Chimera is literally one of classical fiction's most fearsome beasts (we're gonna be talking about Godzilla when I say "fiction" instead of classical fiction), but it's the only giant mofo he fought. Plus, Astolfo's seen more things than Belle so that's an edge for him in this X-Factor.

Sadly, intelligence goes to Bellerophon. Blinded by his own ego is something, but that's a thing he can overcome. But then, he's a quick thinker and a cunning person. Astolfo? All those damn edges I gave to him in the previous sections, and now he lacks common sense? The fuck is wrong with you, Astolfo? I thought you're supposed to be that knight in shining armor! Anyways, Belle takes the edge here.

Belle takes physicality, since he's outright a demigod. Astolfo has all those weapons at his disposal, but in a muscle-on-muscle fight, he's nothing.

Training is quite hard for me. While Belle proved himself as a competent warrior in his quest, his training was somewhat limited. Astolfo trained with paladins who were considered the most skilled warriors in their time, and he did so frequently. What can I pull from this? Astolfo's training > Belle's training.

Overall, no one takes the X-Factors here. It's an even.

WINNER: Astolfo

The X-Factors are a tie, so we turn to the weapons here and Astolfo gets it all. With his superior protection, Astolfo can take even the superhuman-strength-backed blows of Bellerophon. His weapons are also superior overall, with them having both mystical qualities and superior grades overall. Astolfo's hippogriff is also a gamebreaker here, with it being superior to Belle's Pegasus. Combining its ferocity and Astolfo's horn and lance, Belle will be on the ground sooner or later, where even his superhuman might can't defend him from the wrath of the superior weapons of Astolfo. Astolfo wins this, even though his common sense is literally on a what-the-fuck scale.