Ray Tanaka: Due to how the Hand Cannon on the show appears, I will be using the Handgonne to represent the weapon for this chapter.
Hannibal Barca
(A man with a black beard and a wrapping over his right eye wearing a bronze cuirass over a tunic with an indigo cloak and a bronze helmet slashes with a curved sword.)
The general from Carthage who nearly brought the Roman Republic to its knees.
(Hannibal Barca charges forward on horseback into Roman infantry while his War Elephants wreck havoc before cutting the throat of a hastati.)
Vlad Dracula
(A man with a black mustache and long hair wearing plated mail over black clothing and a steel helmet swings a polearm before thrusting it forward at an unseen enemy.)
The Voivode of Wallachia who terrified the Ottoman Empire into retreating.
(Vlad Dracula and some of his men rush through an Ottoman camp at night as he swings his Kilij at an emerging Janissary and beheads them.)
WHO IS DEADLIEST?
To find out, our world class fighters are testing history and fiction's most lethal weapons. Using twenty-first century science, we'll see what happens when the two warriors go toe to toe.
No rules; No safety; No mercy: It's a duel to the death to decide who is...
The Deadliest Warrior
In the Fight Club, four men are wielding weapons that range from both the Iron Age and the Late Medieval Age as they're preparing for the tests to come. Two men are using a metal javelin and a sword respectively as the other two men are using weapons with the first using a sword and the other looks over an early firearm.
Welcome to the Fight Club. Here we've gathered a team of scientists, combat experts, and doctors to see who would win in a battle between two leaders who fought against two world powers from their times.
Hannibal Barca: The Carthaginian general who became one of Rome's greatest enemies.
Versus...
Vlad Dracula: The Voivode of Wallachia who used guerrilla tactics against the Ottoman Empire.
Hannibal Barca
Height: 5'7
Weight: 155 pounds
Circa: 202 BCE
Origin: Carthage
Armor: Bronze Musculata with Pteruges and Bronze Greaves, Thracian Helmet, Caetra Shield
Vlad Dracula
Height: 5'9
Weight: 170 pounds
Circa: 1476
Origin: Wallachia
Armor: Plated Mail, Sallet, Heater Shield
A man with brown hair and gloves wearing a green jacket over a white shirt and brown pants with a lightsaber and blaster pistol examines an iron javelin in his hands.
Lead biomedical engineer and Jedi Knight, Marcus Jendark, will use scientific equipment to determine the potential power behind the weapons.
"These two men lead military forces against two world superpowers of their times," Marcus says to the camera, "As such, we will be testing the weapons they used for this match up."
A woman with long, brunette hair wearing a white lab coat over light blue scrubs looking over a ballistic foam torso with two holes leaking blood.
Forensic scientist and medical doctor, Amber Wilson, will provide insight to the wounds that the weapons will deliver to an actual person.
"This is the first time where both warriors are bringing weaponry from different eras of history," Amber remarks, "How they'll be able to kill each other is what we're interested in."
At a table that has many books on it, a man wearing a light blue polo shirt tucked into a pair of khakis reads a book and is typing notes onto a document on his laptop.
Historian and researcher, Stevan Lloyd, has been preparing the coming tests and looking into the data to find info on the warriors.
"History has been rather kind to these two warriors in terms of keeping track of them," Stevan states, "Which means that gauging them in terms of x-factors has been a cake walk."
A man with a tan and a right cybernetic arm wearing a black overcoat over a gray shirt and green army pants types quickly on a keyboard in front of two computer monitors.
Former soldier and computer whiz, Dexter Reed, will input the weapons and x-factor data into a simulation program that will determine the winner.
"Both Hannibal and Dracula were known for leading armies into battle," Dexter says, "As such, this battle between them will be done as a squad on squad match."
The simulation will run a thousand battles between Hannibal and six of his mercenaries against Vlad Dracula and six of his summoned warriors. The winner will be the Deadliest Warrior.
A man with short brown hair wearing a green shirt and blue jeans has a two iron javelins in his hands as he gets a sense of their weight.
Carlo Mazzeo, a Roman historian and archery expert, will lead the charge for one of Roman's most famous enemies.
"Rome had every right to fear Hannibal during the Second Punic War," Carlo says with a smirk, "After all, he's one of the greatest military minds to appear through all of history."
Another man with brown hair and mustache wearing a blue shirt with black pants has a sword with a blade that curves forward in his hand as he gives it a swing.
Vito Altera, an expert in Classical weaponry and a horseback rider, will also represent the ancient general from Carthage.
"To Hannibal, his war wasn't just about fighting the Romans," Vito states, "It was about getting revenge for the First Punic War and the Romans ruining Carthage."
Born in 247 BCE in the city of Carthage, Hannibal Barca was the son of the general Hamilcar Barca who had his son pledge to "never be a friend of Rome" before taking him in his conquest of Hispania. Serving under his brother-in-law after his father's death, Hannibal would take over his father's army after them in 221 BCE. Three years later, Hannibal would attack Rome's ally of Saguntum in Hispania causing the spark of the Second Punic War and would soon take his father's army in his invasion of Italy.
"Hannibal crossing the Alps was one of his greatest achievements as a general," Carlo explains, "With him bypassing the Roman garrisons and their navy, he made the Romans abandon a planned invasion of Africa to focus on fighting him."
After winning the Battle of the Trebia, Hannibal would move through the Italian peninsula gaining more victories including at Lake Trasimene in 217 BCE and his famous victory at Cannae in 216 BCE. However, the Roman Republic would change tactics to make it a war of attrition before their armies would capture Hispania and the Roman general Scipio Africanus would invade Africa. This invasion forced Hannibal to return to Carthage in 203 BCE and would be defeated by Scipio at the Battle of Zama the next year, ending the Second Punic War.
"Despite his lost and later exiling himself from his home, Hannibal is remembered for his feats on the battlefield," Vito says, "So he and his men won't be going down without a fight."
Our experts for the Carthaginian general believe that the general will gain another victory. And so is their rivals: the experts for the Voivode of Wallachia.
A man with dark brown wearing a black long sleeve shirt and khaki pants has a crossbow in his hands while putting a spanning devise on it.
Remus Cardei, an expert in medieval weaponry and a horseback rider, will represent the infamous leader of Wallachia.
"Nowadays Vlad is known more for the novel 'Dracula' and for his cruelty," Remus tells the camera, "However, to the Romanians he is nothing short of a folk hero."
Another man with black hair wearing a gray shirt over black pants picks up a polearm from the table and examines it with keen interest.
Dimitry Zaituc, a Romanian historian, shall also help in fighting back against the new enemy of Vlad Dracula.
"Vlad III often gets his modern reputation from some of the sources we have," Dimitry says, "But the tales of his life still make him a remembered figure in human history."
Born between the years 1428 and 1431, Vlad III Dracula was the second son of Vlad II Dracul who had him become a member of the Order of the Dragon before his father became Voivode of Wallachia. After he and his brother Radu III were captured with their father in 1442 by the Ottomans, their father was released with his sons remaining as hostages before being released at some point after. While he would briefly take the throne of Wallachia in late 1448, Vlad's true reign as Voivode would begin upon gaining support from Hungary and invade in 1456 with the then Voivode Vladislav II dying in battle.
"After taking the throne, Vlad would purge the boyars to strengthen his power as the Voivode," Dimitry states, "He would get into conflict with the Transylvanian Saxons, but he's most well known for his treatment of enemies and criminals with the most famous being his forest of impaled corpses."
After killing envoys of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II when ordered to pay homage, Vlad III would attack Ottoman territory in February of 1462 with Mehmed II launching a campaign into Wallachia. While at first successful in making the sultan and the main Ottoman army flee, his younger brother Radu III would gain the throne with Vlad III being imprisoned from 1463 and 1475. Vlad III would reclaim the throne in 1476, but would die in battle fighting an Ottoman army either in December of that year or January of 1477.
"The Ottomans would bring Vlad's head back to Istanbul as a trophy," Remus remark, "However, he's still remembered for his actions and his legacy has continued to live on."
So if the famous general goes up against the infamous impaler, who would win?
"Hannibal is a better leader than Vlad the Impaler would ever hope to be," Carlo says with a smirk, "So he and his men will probably put down the mad man."
"An ancient warrior like Hannibal going up against Vlad III?" Remus asks, before shaking his head, "Yeah, Vlad Dracula should take this one easily."
"I'm siding with Vlad the Impaler on this one," Dexter states, "He's from a later time in history and his equipment are more advanced than what Hannibal is bringing."
"Both of these men will be bringing deadly weapons," Amber comments, "However, I could see Hannibal winning as his weapons are pretty heavy hitting."
And the heavy hitting weapons that Hannibal has are ready to be shown with his most well known weapon in his campaigns.
"Hannibal is most famous for a weapon that...isn't even a weapon," Carlo states, "After all, an animal like the War Elephant is its own separate thing compared to what Vlad has."
The War Elephant: A fearsome animal from Africa used by Carthage in their wars to bring fear and death to enemy infantry.
War Elephant
Shoulder Height: 8'2
Weight: 2 – 4 metric tons
Attacks: Tusks, grab, crush
"So, you guys are bringing in a mount for this fight?" Marcus asks, standing with the other experts at a table in the Fight Club.
"Well, not exactly," Carlo states, "It's not that clear if the elephants that Carthage had access to in Africa were able to carry men on their backs due to conflicting information. Even if using a rider, Hannibal would be sending the elephants first into the fight to break up and terrify the enemy soldiers."
"Elephants are large animals, and certainly will cause a great amount of chaos in any fight," Amber remarks.
"Stevan, do we have any elephants to test to back things up?" Marcus asks, turning to the resident historian.
"We do, though it was hard to find one similar to what Hannibal had," Stevan answers, "The elephant Hannibal had would have been the North African Elephant which went extinct at some point in Roman times. The stats we have for the animal's weight are from the African Forest Elephant which doesn't appear to have any held in captivity, though we were able to find an elephant to do the tests."
"Alright, let's head outside and do the first tests with a live animal," Dexter says, before the experts head away from the table.
Due to the usage of a large animal, the testing for the War Elephant will take place outside of the Fight Club.
The experts walk over to an elephant being cared for by a man wearing a white shirt and khaki shorts who watches them coming to the two.
"Mr. Jon Tait," Stevan says as they arrive, "Nice to see that you and Lily could come."
"Pleasure to be here," Jon Tait replies, "And Lily's doing just fine here."
"So, we've got an Asian Elephant to do the testing," Dexter remarks.
"That is correct," Jon replies, "Lily isn't an Indian Elephant, but she's closely related and Asian Elephants were the most common choice for a War Elephant."
"Well, we do have a test set up for her," Amber states, as they lead Lily towards the test.
To measure the force that an elephant will put on a human, a ballistic gel torso representing a human target has been laid on a wooden board over a load cell. Due to his talent with the Beast Trick ability, Marcus will help with the test.
"Alright, the load cell is registering," Dexter says, standing behind a table with a computer, "Whenever you three are ready."
With the help of Marcus, Jon eases Lily to step onto the load cell and the ballistic gel torso as Amber watches with Carlo and Vito. Upon her foot getting onto the chest of the gel torso, the elephant begins to put her weight on it causing a sickening cracking noise to be heard.
"Right now, we're hearing the rib cage cracking from the force," Amber explains as Remus and Dimitry whose holding something walk over, "If the bones are breaking, then the rest of the chest cavity isn't far behind."
As she says that, blood sprays onto the wooden board with the organs being crushed before Marcus and Jon have Lily raise her foot. When she puts her foot down, the elephant has it on the head as she puts pressure onto it. Within a few moments, the skull is heard cracking before it gets crushed spraying blood onto the wooden board.
"Okay, we've got the force behind Lily's foot," Dexter says as Jon and Marcus have Lily step off the ballistic gel torso revealing a nearly crushed head, "The load cell was able to get a force of 2045 pounds from her."
"With that much force, even steel plate armor wouldn't save someone," Amber states, "The person would be killed upon being stomped on and, as we see, a person's head is basically done for."
Despite the results from the test, the experts for Vlad Dracula are not convinced.
"A problem I see is that the elephant is an animal with its own instincts," Remus remarks, "Which means that it's going to be a problem if something would happen."
"Well elephants were easy to spook and the Romans did make use of noise to frighten them," Carlo replies, "However, there's very little to compare to the fright factor that an elephant can bring to enemy soldiers."
"See, there's a simple problem with that," Dimitry states with a smirk as he lifts up to hold the Handgonne he has in both hands, "Vlad Dracula has gunpowder weapons like this one."
The Handgonne: An early gunpowder weapon from Europe which can punch through armor at range and in melee.
Handgonne
Barrel Length: 6 inches
Stock Length: 28 inches
Weight: 3.95 pounds
Ammo: .50 caliber lead ball
"This is the Handgonne," Dimitry says as he shows the weapon to the experts now in the firing range outside the Fight Club, "This is one of many types of early hand cannons which was used by the Wallachia during their battle against the Ottoman Empire."
"Nice to see an early gunpowder weapon," Marcus says with interest, "What's the spike on the bottom of it for?"
"This spike is meant to give support by putting it on a wall or shield," Dimitry replies, "But it can also be used as a weapon if necessary."
"Well, we have a test set up here so let's see it in action," Dexter says, directing the expert to a spot on the firing range.
To test the Handgonne, two ballistic foam torsos have been set up to take the role of humans. Thanks to input from Carlo and Vito, Stevan Lloyd has set up one of these foam torsos with the armor worn by Hannibal in battle.
"During this period of time, the generals of Carthage would make use of a bronze cuirass known as a musculata as their main body armor," Stevan explains, standing next to the foam torso on a stand equipped with the armor in question, "This body armor makes use of pteruges which is a skirt of either leather or multiple layer of linen strips worn around the waist and shoulders. In addition, the helmet most likely used by the Carthaginians is the Thracian Helmet made of bronze and the Caetra shield. The Caetra is a wooden shield with two bars of metal, iron for the testing, attached at the back and the front having an iron boss at the center with leather covering the rest of the shield. For this test, the Caetra will be on its own stand."
With the targets now set up, it's time for the test to begin.
Dimitry stands at a table fifteen feet from the two foam torsos with the one on his left wearing armor and the shield stand on its left. As he finishes loading the first shot into the Handgonne, Marcus says, "Dimitry, you only have three shots to make before you take them out with the spike. Ready?"
"Ready," Dimitry replies, picking up a match and aiming the firearm down range at the unarmored torso.
"Alright, on three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, fire!"
Putting the match to the touch hole, Dimitry fires the first shot which causes a loud bang and a small cloud of smoke as the round strikes the unarmored torso. When the smoke quickly clears away, it shows a large hole in the center of the foam torso which causes blood to rapidly pour out of the wound. Blowing on the barrel, Dimitry puts the match down before grabbing a measuring devise filled with gunpowder as he begins to pour it into the barrel.
Much like the muskets and pistols from later periods, the Handgonne requires time in between shots to reload.
Quickly finishing the reload, the expert picks up the match as he aims the Handgonne at the shield before putting the match at the touch hole. This causes another bang and small smoke cloud as the shield is struck with the lead ball tearing into the leather before getting embedded into the wood.
As Dimitry begins to reload, Dexter remarks, "It may take long, but it seems to be causing a lot of damage."
"That it does," Amber states, watching the expert loading the final shot.
Once he's done loading, Dimitry quickly points the weapon at the second foam torso before putting the match at the touch hole to fire the weapon. The expert puts the match down and waits a moment as he sees a hole in the Bronze Musculata with blood leaking from it and from under the pteruges.
Rushing forward while holding the Handgonne like a club, Dimitry quickly reaches the first foam torso and swings the weapon causing the spike to go into the center of the forehead. The expert quickly removes the spike as blood flows from the wound and he moves onto the shield before he swings the weapon again.
This causes the spike to strike the shield and pierce it before he quickly pulls the weapon back causing the shield to fall off the stand as the spike comes out. Moving onto the final target, Dimitry quickly lifts the Handgonne up and brings the spike into the Thracian Helmet causing the metal spike to pierce the bronze.
Pulling the weapon back, Dimitry looks over to the experts and raises a hand as he shouts, "Done!"
"Great work, Dimitry," Marcus replies as he and the others walk over.
"Alright, let's start with the first target," Amber says as she walks up to the first foam torso, "The strike to the head has clearly gone into the brain so this one is a kill. Same with your first shot, it punched into this guy's chest and went into the heart. He's dead before he even its the ground."
"The shield held up pretty well," Marcus remarks as he picks up the Caetra, "The shot has lodged itself into the shield face while the spike pierced into it. It doesn't look like it did much, so the shield is still usable."
"And now we turn to this target," Amber states, taking the Thracian Helmet off the foam torso and handing it to Dexter, "Alright, so looks like the spike went into the head though the hole isn't as big. Most likely, the helmet did stop it though the weapon is still cracking the skull which won't kill immediately."
"Still, he's helpless with that bronze helmet," Dimitry remarks with a smirk as Amber and Marcus take off the Bronze Musculata off the foam torso.
Once the armor is off, Amber looks at the torso and says, "Alright, the shot punched through the bronze and made it into this guy's gut. This is a delayed kill since it's taken out the intestines, and even by modern standards the chances of surviving this are very slim."
"Yeah, that was a nice display of the weapon," Carlo states while clapping his hands for a moment, "However, your firearm takes time to reload which is a slow process. In the time it takes you to get a second shot off, the War Elephant has already stomped you into the ground."
"I do recall you yourself mention the Romans using noise to frighten War Elephants," Dimitry retorts, "Besides, the smoke coming out will also help and Hannibal has never faced a weapon like this during his life time."
Both sides are confident that their warrior's special weapon is better, but which one do are experts think get the edge?
"The War Elephant is kinda interesting since it's an animal with its own mind going into the fight," Marcus says while standing next to Amber and Dexter, "However, I have to side with the Handgonne since it did better than I was expecting and we do have to consider that gunpowder didn't exist during the Second Punic War."
"Well, we do know that armor isn't an issue here since both can take out the other's armor," Dexter remarks, "However, since the elephant won't have a rider in this fight, the animal is far more likely to falter when up against something it's never seen before."
"I think I know what can sum up the verdict here," Amber states, "There's a reason why we don't use elephants against guns in modern times."
For special weapons, Vlad Dracula gets the edge with the Handgonne.
Our experts are preparing more rounds of testing to see who would gain victory between these two leaders who battled against raising world superpowers. However, before a contest of these two can play out, one must consider the x-factors that would be involved in this contest.
"We have look into all of the available sources regarding these two leaders," Stevan says, "We've found five common x-factors that would be impact the fight. Those would be troop quality, experience, intimidation, metallurgy, and generalship."
These x-factors will be analyzed and then input into the simulation to help determine who would win between these two warriors. However, the experts for Vlad Dracula believe that their next weapon will decide the match in their favor.
"The Handgonne isn't the only ranged weapon that Vlad and his men used," Remus states while picking up a Steel Crossbow from the table, "This was the primary ranged weapon for many European armies during Vlad's time."
The Steel Crossbow: A heavy crossbow from the Medieval Ages that can generate great forces to punch into armored foes.
Steel Crossbow
Length: 41 inches
Prod Length: 34 inches
Weight: 14.25 pounds
Substance: Wood, steel, and bowstring
"This is the Arbalest, otherwise known as the Steel Crossbow," Remus says as he shows the weapon to the experts, "This is a variant of the crossbow used even before Vlad's life on the battlefield."
"Ah, a popular range weapon of the Medieval Ages," Dexter remarks, "I'm guessing that the steel part of its name comes from the prod."
"Yes, and why it requires a windlass devise," Remus replies, "The tension of steel prod plus the size of the crossbow makes using a devise like this a necessity for its use."
"Well, we already have a test set up for you," Marcus says before he and the other experts lead Remus towards the testing area.
To test the Steel Crossbow, a test has been set up with two targets, a ballistic gel torso and a foam torso wearing the armor of Hannibal Barca.
"Alright, here's what we have," Amber tells Remus, "We have two targets for you to fire bolts at for the test. You'll have a small table for the windlass to rest and will start with the unarmored target which we'll look at before you take on the armored torso."
"Right," Remus replies, putting the cocking stirrup of the Steel Crossbow on the ground as Amber heads to leave the testing area. Working fast, the expert puts the windlass on the weapon and operates the devise to span the bowstring back until it clicks into place.
As Remus takes the devise off and picks up the Steel Crossbow, Dexter says, "Remus, are you ready?"
Putting in a bolt, he replies, "Ready!"
"On three," Dexter counts down, "Two, one, fire!"
Aiming the weapon, Remus focuses on the headless ballistic gel torso before pulling the lever trigger which releases the bowstring and fire the bolt. The bolt buries itself into the gel torso in the left side of the chest close to the center of it before the expert puts the stirrup back down on the ground. Putting his foot in the stirrup, he quickly puts the windlass onto the Steel Crossbow before grabbing the handles and winding the devise up.
With Marcus timing the reloading time, Remus continues to span the bowstring back as quickly as he can before the bowstring is caught by the catch. Moving down, he quickly pulls the rope of the windlass back down before pulling it off and putting it back on the small table. Marcus stops the time and writes the time down as the expert puts a second bolt onto the crossbow.
Leveling the weapon and aiming it, he pulls the level shooting the bolt which flies forward and impaling itself in the belly of the gel torso. Lowering the weapon, Remus turns and says, "I think that's good enough for this target."
"Alright, let's go check it out," Marcus says, the experts walking over to the first target.
Getting to the gel torso, Amber looks at the bolts as she says, "Okay, it looks like your first shot got into the left lung and possibly breaking a rib by doing so. This is puncturing the left lung, possibly hitting the heart and opening it so this would be a kill shot. The second is a shot to the gut, which will hit the intestines and possibly more. Basically, he won't die from this immediately, but he's still going to die."
"So, a kill shot and a delayed kill," Dexter says, "Good shooting, but we're not done."
With the standard target taken out, it's time for the Steel Crossbow to take on the armored torso.
Finishing spanning the weapon, Remus pulls the windlass off the crossbow as Marcus writes down the time while Dexter asks, "Remus, are you ready?"
Putting a bolt onto the crossbow, the expert shouts, "Ready!"
"On three," Dexter counts down, "Two, one, fire!"
Raising the Steel Crossbow and leveling it, Remus aims the weapon at the Caetra Shield before pressing the lever down shooting the bolt off. This causes the projectile to smash into the shield and embed itself into the shield causing it to shake a bit on the stand as it absorbs the force behind it. Putting the crossbow on the ground, the expert quickly puts the windlass back on before beginning to have it span the bowstring back with his arms moving as fast as possible.
"Pretty long reload on the weapon," Marcus says, keeping an eye on the timer.
"With the power behind it, I'm not surprised," Amber replies, just as the Steel Crossbow finishes loading and her fellow expert writes down the time.
Putting a bolt on the crossbow, Remus takes aim at the foam torso before firing causing the bolt to fly through the air and strike the bronze cuirass. The end result is the bolt actually piercing through the armor though not by much based on how it looks as the expert puts the crossbow back on the ground.
"Would someone mind moving the torso a bit," Remus asks, grabbing the windlass to reload, "I think just shooting the guy in the face would be a bit unfair."
"That can be done," Marcus answers confidently.
As Remus puts the windlass on and begins to span the bowstring back, Marcus quickly gestures with his hand as the stand the foam torso is on lifts a tiny bit into the air. This allows it to move silently as the stand is turned to the right a bit before being set back down as the expert finishes reloading. With Marcus putting down the time, Remus puts a bolt on the crossbow and aims it at the torso which now shows the left cheek plate facing him.
Pulling the lever down, he fires the bolt which zooms through the air and strikes the cheek plate of the Thracian Helmet causing the foam torso to bounce a bit on its stand. As it stops, the expert lowers the weapon to see the bolt in the cheek plate and a bit of blood flowing down until he says, "Done!"
"Alright, let's check what we have," Dexter says, walking with the other experts up to the second target.
Walking over to the shield, Marcus takes it into his hands and looks at the back before stating, "Looks like the bolt just made it through the shield, though not much. The Caetra can still be used, but multiple bolts would make it useless."
"Alright, let's see the damage to the armor," Amber tells the experts before taking the helmet off with some difficulty which shows a hole in the cheek bleeding out, "So, your last bolt hit the cheek plate and it did penetrate. Doesn't look like much and it's probably less if we factor in leather for the helmet, but you at least tore this guy's cheek open, broke his teeth, and leaving him open to infection."
"Still not a pretty sight," Remus states as Amber and Marcus remove the Bronze Musculata.
Once the armor is off and the bolt pulled out with it, the wound on the right side of the belly is shown with Amber explaining, "Alright, so again the bolt didn't get much in though you're still hitting the intestines. Even if we take clothing into account, it's still puncturing the organs which will be a nasty way to die though it is a delayed kill."
"So, a delayed kill and an injury with the final total of the reload time around thirty seconds," Marcus states, "Great show of what that weapon can do."
While our experts are impressed, the experts for Hannibal believe they have a better weapon.
"The crossbow is powerful, but takes too long to reload," Carlo says as he takes up a bow from the table in front of him, "By comparison, the bows during the time of Hannibal are just as powerful and fired faster."
The Composite Bow: One of the most common types of bows which can launch arrows to take down many types of foes.
Composite Bow
Length: 56 inches
Weight: 1.78 pounds
Substance: Wood, bone, sinew, and string
"This is the Composite Bow," Carlo tells the experts while holding a Composite Bow in his hands, "It's the most common type of bow during the classical era with it being used by both Rome and Carthage in warfare."
"Not that surprised to see the bow being used," Marcus remarks, "So, this is what Hannibal used for his ranged units?"
"One of them, actually," Carlo replies, "He also made use of slingers and different types of javelins, but the bow was also used among his men."
"Well, how about we test it out?" Dexter says before leading the others over to the testing area.
For testing the Composite Bow, the same test for the Steel Crossbow will be used with two targets with one being armored. Thanks to the input of Remus and Dimitry, Steven Lloyd has set up he armored torso with the armor most likely worn by Vlad Dracula.
"During the time of Vlad Dracula, Wallachia had many kinds of body armors including plated mail," Steven explains, standing next to the form torso on a stand wearing the armor in question, "This is a type of chainmail armor with embedded plates to strengthen it with this version having long horizontal plates arranged in vertical rows without gaps. In addition, the helmet used by Vlad was an Italian Sallet made of steel and has the face protected by a visor from the mouth up though it leaves the neck exposed. Finally, the most common shield used is the Heater Shield which is a wooden shield with a canvas over it and leather straps, or enarmes, on the back to grip the shield. For this test, the Heater Shield will be on its own stand."
With the targets now set up, it's time for the test to begin.
"Alright, we have the same set up with two targets and a quiver of arrows set up for you," Amber tells Carlo, "You'll start with the unarmored torso and then we'll check the damage before moving on to the armored target."
"Sounds good," Carlo replies, getting next to the quiver mounted on a small stand as Amber leaves the testing area. Taking an arrow out, the expert nocks it onto the bowstring before readying himself to fire the weapon.
"Carlo, are you ready?"
"Ready!" Carlo replies as he raises his arms.
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Moving his arms up, Carlo draws the bowstring back and lowers the Composite Bow down to aim at the ballistic gel torso before letting the arrow loose. The arrow quickly strikes the gel torso and going into the chest as the expert quickly pulls out and nocks another arrow onto the bowstring. Without wasting time, he draws the bow back and aims before letting the second arrow fly through the air.
The arrow quickly hits the gel torso in the left shoulder with the projectile burying into the gel with the expert nocking a third arrow. Lining up, Carlo fires the arrow which quickly flies and strikes the target in the gut before lowering the Composite Bow and saying, "How's that?"
"That works for us," Dexter says, the experts walking over to the ballistic gel torso.
Upon reaching the gel torso, Amber looks at the arrows and says, "Alright, so your first arrow appears to have gotten through the rib cage so this could hit the left lung and result in a fatal wound. Your second arrow struck the shoulder which doesn't seem bad, but really there's so much that can be taken out here so it's a disabling shot. Finally, you got an arrow into the gut which will hit the organs and cause a delay kill."
"Alright, that means we have two delayed kills and a wound," Dexter sums up, "Good job, and now to move onto the second target."
With the first target now taken out, it's time for the Composite Bow to take on the second target.
Carlo stands next to the quiver mounted on a small stand while nocking an arrow on the bowstring and facing the armored targets as he prepares himself.
"Carlo, are you ready?"
"Ready!" the expert exclaims.
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Getting his arms up, he draws the bowstring back and takes aim at the shield before launching the arrow with it striking the face of the heater shield. Taking another arrow out, Carlo draws the Composite Bow back as he aims and puts another arrow into the shield. Nocking a third arrow onto the bowstring, the expert draws the bowstring back as he moves to focus on the armored torso and at their head.
Letting the arrow loose, the arrow flies through the air and strikes the helmet right above the eye slit causing the arrow to bounce off the visor. Taking another arrow out of the quiver, Carlo nocks it onto the bow and draws it back before taking aim as he tries to focus on the eye slit. The arrow is let loose and goes through the air only to bounce off the helmet as it strikes under the eye slit.
Grabbing another arrow, the expert draws the bow while aiming it before firing the arrow which goes into the neck of the foam torso as Carlo draws another arrow. Nocking it, he draws the bowstring back and aims at the body armor before letting the arrow loose with it flying through the air. However, it strikes one of the steel plates and barely punches into it as it falls to the ground.
Taking another arrow, Carlo nocks the arrow and pulls the Composite Bow back as he aims at the armored torso before letting the arrow loose. This time the arrow flies and strikes the mail right above the steel plates with it seeming to stick into the armor before Carlo shouts, "Done!"
"Okay, than let's check things out," Dexter states, following the other experts to the armored torso.
Reaching the shield, Marcus takes it off the stand and looks at the back before saying, "Looks like the arrows only stuck into the face of the shield and nothing going through the back. So, the shield did its job and the guy can still use it."
"Well, let's take a look at the armor itself," Amber tells the experts before taking the Sallet off the foam torso and saying, "So, looks like all the arrows did was make light dents to the helmet's visor so he's fine in that regard. You did get a cheeky hit in at the neck which wasn't armored so you did get a kill shot."
"Hey, it's a free kill zone," Carlo replies as Amber removes the arrow in the neck.
Moving onto the other arrow, she removes the arrow rather easily before Amber explains, "Alright, so it seems that the arrow only went a tiny bit past the chainmail part of the armor. It'll probably cause a light wound, though the person is getting back up from it. The last arrow did the same as the ones against the helmet, bent the metal but didn't penetrate it."
"Overall, a kill shot and a light wound," Marcus summarizes, "Great show of what the archer can do."
Now with both weapons having been tested, which one gives its user the edge?
"Honestly, neither weapon really is better than the other," Dexter states, "The Steel Crossbow can get past the classical age armor, but the Composite Bow can get more shots off which can be too much for those using the crossbow."
For long range, the edge is a draw between Hannibal Barca and Vlad Dracula.
Coming up, Hannibal Barca is ready to cut up his foe with his close range weapon, and Vlad Dracula will fight back with his polearm of choice to take on any opponent.
Hannibal Barca or Vlad Dracula: Who will become the Deadliest Warrior?
In the Fight Club, we're one step closer to see who'd win against Hannibal Barca and Vlad Dracula in a battle to the death.
With an edge already under their belt, the experts for Vlad Dracula are ready to gain another with the Voivode's sword of choice.
"Vlad most likely had access to a few different types of swords," Remus says as he stands at a table while drawing a Kilij out of its scabbard, "But this sword is damn good at its job."
The Kilij: The feared scimitar used by the Ottoman Empire which can slash through human flesh like butter.
Kilij
Blade Length: 27.13 inches
Length: 33.5 inches
Weight: 2 pounds
Substance: Steel, brass, and wood
"This is the Kilij," Remus tells the experts while holding the Kilij in his hand, "The main sidearm of the Ottoman soldiers during Vlad's time and he himself ended up using."
"Interesting that he uses his enemy sword," Marcus replies, "Though it doesn't seem like it'd be good at thrusting."
"You would be correct in that assumption," Remus says, "But what it lacks in the thrust, the curved and top heavy blade makes up for it with cutting power."
While our experts for Vlad Dracula are certain of their sword, our experts of Hannibal Barca are also certain about the personal sword of their ancient general.
"So they bring a sword with a curved and top heavy blade," Vito says while holding a Falcata in his hands as he sits at a table, "Well, Hannibal has one of those as well with some of the finest metal blades of its time."
The Falcata: The forward curved sword of Iberia which can strike a foe with the force of axe thanks to its cutting edge.
Falcata
Blade Length: 20.13 inches
Length: 25.25 inches
Weight: 2.48 pounds
Substance: Spanish steel, brass, and bone
"This is the Falcata," Vito tells the experts as he holds the sword in his hands, "This was from the Iberian peninsula with the mercenaries led by Hannibal making great use of it."
"Interesting that it's curved forward," Amber observes, "That seems like it'd be a great chopper while still being usable in a thrust."
"You'll be right in that regard," Vito replies, "This blade is a powerful cutter, so much so that Hannibal himself and his Carthaginian soldiers ended up using it."
"Well, we have a test for that," Dexter says before he and the other experts walk off to the testing area.
To test both weapons, our experts have set up a test for the experts to put the swords through their paces.
Both Remus and Vito meet the experts outside where the two see a hanging pig from a wooden structure by a rope with a foam torso on a stand close by. Nearby are two more targets in the form of fake heads and necks on large stands which are elevated compared to the pig and foam torso.
"Okay, so here's how this test will go for you," Marcus tells both experts before explaining the test, "You'll start with the dead pig with you having to get two to three strikes before moving onto the foam torso and take it out before jumping on a horse and taking out the two heads. During this, the foam torso and second head will be armored so you'll need to take out the armor that they'll be wearing."
"That's pretty simple," Vito says with a nod of his head.
"Yep, sounds like a good test," Remus remarks with a smirk.
"Great to hear that," Marcus replies, before pointing to Remus, "Remus, you'll be up first."
For the first round, the foam torso has been set up with the armor worn by Hannibal with his shield on a separate stand and the second fake head protected by a Thracian Helmet.
Standing in front of the pig carcass, Remus has his arm raised with his Kilij at the ready as he looks at the first target.
"Remus, are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Remus swings his arm with the Kilij slicing through the midsection sending half of the pig to the ground before he brings the blade back around. This gets the second strike to the neck though the blade fails to cut through it entirely leaving the head hanging by a bit of skin. The experts are shocked by this as Remus chops the head off before rushing towards the armored foam torso and the shield on its own stand.
Getting to the armored target, the expert swings the Kilij down and chops into the rim of the Caetra before wrestling the blade out of the shield. With another swing, the sword strikes the surface cutting into it through the rim of the iron boss holds its own. Grabbing and shoving the shield along with its stand to the ground, the expert moves to the armored torso with him swinging the Kilij which strikes and dents into the bronze musculata.
Pulling the sword back, Remus performs another swing which dents and cuts into the cuirass at the waist before turning and heading to where the horse for his test is. Reaching the animal, the expert carefully climbs onto the horse's saddle before grabbing the horse's reins. He quickly has the horse move forward and begin to charge with him having his Kilij at the ready as they head for the last two targets.
Reaching the first one, the expert swings his arm with the sword striking the fake neck and cutting clean through it sending the fake head flying. Acting fast as they approach, Remus swings the Kilij to strike the Thracian Helmet with it denting and shaving off a bit of bronze before the horse gallops past it.
"Kark," Marcus says in disbelief as he and the experts walk over to the pig with Remus having the horse trot over, "I've rarely seen a normal sword do that kind of damage before."
"Okay, so we don't need to discuss much here," Amber states while looking at the remains of the pig, "You cut the pig in half and then took the head. Both are kill shots and there's no way of coming back from them."
"Exactly what the Kilij is best at," Remus replies as he follows on horseback to the foam torso.
"Alright, the Caetra took a good beating here," Marcus replies as he picks the shield up and looks it over, "You chopped through the rim and a bit into the shield with the leather and wood being cut into. The boss is fine though, and may have even saved it from being damaged even more."
Looking over the bronze musculata, Amber says, "Looks like you were able to dent and even shave off a small bit of bronze from the surface. It's not much, but the fact that it was cut into is worrying."
"I'm not surprised," Dexter remarks, "Bronze is a weaker metal than steel, which is why it's usage as armor faded away once steel became more available."
Dexter helps Amber taking the armor off the foam torso which reveals two imprints across the chest and waist of the foam torso. Looking at the damage, Amber tells the others, "Looking at this, we can tell that the bronze did little to protect him from the blunt force of the impacts. These blows are breaking bones and harming the internal organs, so even with clothing under it the chances of survival aren't looking good."
"So, we have two kill shots and two potentially lethal internal injuries on the ground targets," Marcus summarizes, "Which does leave the second group of targets."
The experts walk over as Remus dismounts and follows them as others lead the horse away before Dexter picks up the severed head. Holding it, he says, "Well, that's another beheading."
"Indeed it is," Marcus replies as he gets to the other stand and uses the screws to lower it. This allows the experts to get to the armored head with Amber taking the dented helmet off to show a large crack in the fake head.
"Okay, this is bad," Amber states as she looks at the damage to the head and helmet, "The blow from the Kilij has done the same thing to the helmet, but far worse here. This crack is causing a concussion and could be a killing blow even with treatment."
"So, that adds a kill and a fatal injury to the line up," Marcus says, before turning to Remus, "Great job on showing what that blade can do."
"Of course," Remus says, before turning to Vito and asking, "Think your sword can match?"
"I'm confident it will," Vito answers with a grin.
With the Kilij testing done, the targets are reset with new ones to measure the killing power of the Falcata. This time around, the armored torso and head will be equipped with the armor of Vlad Dracula.
Standing before the new dead pig, Vito readies himself as he has his right arm at the side ready to start with the Falcata in hand.
"Vito, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Vito quickly swings the sword with the blade going into the midsection of the pig which results in it nearly being chopped halfway through. Bringing it out, the expert performs an overhead strike which causes the Falcata to cut into the neck nearly chopping it off. Quickly performing another chop, he takes the rest of the head off before rushing past it towards the armored foam torso.
Reaching the target, the expert swings the sword down which causes him to perform another overhead strike allowing the weapon to chop into the heater shield. Wrestling the sword out of the shield, Vito performs a thrust which goes into the face of the shield though it doesn't go very far before it's pulled out. Grabbing the shield and shoving it to the ground, he moves to the foam torso and swings the blade from the side which strikes the steel plates and dents them a bit.
Moving the blade back, the expert lines up and performs a thrust with the tip of the blade going between the plates at the front. Drawing the blade out, Vito quickly runs over to where the horse for his tests are and climbs onto it once he reaches the animal. Getting in the saddle and grabbing the reins, he quickly has the horse slowly break into a gallop towards the other two targets with his arm raised to strike with the Falcata.
As he approaches the first target, Vito waits for the right moment before swinging the Falcata and striking the first neck. The sword nearly cuts through it leaving the neck in two and handing by a thread before performing a downward swing. This causes the blade to slam onto the Sallet which dents as it and the head bounces from the impact as the expert rides past the targets.
"Great job," Marcus says loudly as the experts walk over to the pig carcass with Vito having the horse trot over, "Not as bad as last time, but still not as pretty."
"So, this is much like the last time where we don't need to discuss much," Amber states while looking at the pig, "You cut halfway into the target and took off his head with the other two strikes. There is no way of saving him so the target is completely dead."
"Now you see why they made the Falcata the way they did," Vito remarks as he follows on the horse to the foam torso.
"The heater shield is not in that good of a shape," Marcus says while picking up the shield from the ground, "The sword chopped past the rim and got a stab partially into the face of it. The stabs may not be anything to worry about, but more chops like this and you could make it useless."
Examining the plated mail, Amber tells the others, "So, the plates have been dented from the strikes though they don't look as bad as with the bronze musculata."
"This shows why steel was used for armor," Dexter replies.
Dexter quickly works with Amber to take off the plated mail by undoing the straps on the front keeping it closed revealing a small wound leaking blood. Looking over the wound, Amber says, "Okay, so it looks like the tip actually went through and caused a wound. Judging by the injury, it looks like it went about an inch which could be lethal if it hits in the right place."
"So, two kills and a potential lethal wound on the ground targets," Marcus summarizes, "That just leaves the other two targets to look at."
The experts walk over as Vito gets off his mount and quickly follows after them while the horse is lead away by an assistant. Getting to the first stand, Marcus begins to use the screws to lower it down to show the nearly decapitated head. As she looks at it, Amber states, "Alright, so this is another kill and this one is so close to replicating what Remus did."
At that moment, the weight of the head causes the synthetic flesh to break making the head fall with Dexter saying, "And there it goes."
Getting to the second stand, Marcus lowers it to allow the experts to look at the helmet before Amber removes the dented helmet to show a small split with blood leaking from the fake head.
"Alright, so this is rather bad," Amber states as she looks at the damage to the helmet and head, "The helmet absorbed most of the blow, but it still cause a split. This won't kill, but it could lead to worst and will stun the user which will leave them open to a killing blow."
"So, that adds another kill and an injury to the tally," Marcus says, before turning to Vito, "Great job on showing what the Falcata can do."
"No problem," Vito replies with a smile.
Both swords have been tested, but which one gives its user the edge in close range?
"The Falcata has more options, but the Kilij takes this one easily," Amber states, "It causes greater wounds with its cutting power and the bronze armor and helmet can't hold up to it."
For close range, Vlad Dracula gets the edge with the Kilij.
With only one more round of testing to go, we're one step closer to determining the winner in a battle between Hannibal Barca and Vlad Dracula.
When it comes to fighting his battles, Hannibal had a potent weapon to use which our experts are now willing to reveal to claim victory.
"One of the most common weapons used in Hannibal's army was the javelin," Carlo says as he picks up three Soliferrum from the table, "But none are as deadly and as effective as the Soliferrum."
The Soliferrum: An all metal javelin used to soften up enemy troops by both the infantry and fast moving cavalry.
Soliferrum
Length: 60 inches
Weight: 7 pounds
Substance: Iron
"These are Soliferrum," Carlo tells the experts as he and Vito come over holding a few in their hands, "One of the many types of javelins used by Hannibal and his men in combat."
"I'm surprised to see a throwing weapon being used," Dexter says with interest, "Though, the weight behind them will probably make them a very deadly weapon when thrown."
"These were very deadly," Vito replies, "Not only did the infantry use them in combat, but also used as a cavalry weapon."
"Well, let's start out with the use for infantry," Marcus says before he and the others lead the two men to the test zone.
To see how effective the Soliferrum is on foot, the experts head outside where two foam torso are waiting for them.
"Okay, so here's the idea," Marcus tells Carlo while they look at the foam torsos, "You'll be about thirty feet away from the targets and will have five javelins to throw. The first target will be unarmored, but the other has Vlad's armor plus his shield on a separate stand."
"Sounds good," Carlo replies, taking a Soliferrum into his right hand while the other four are in his left hand as Marcus goes over to where the other experts are.
"Carlo, are you ready?"
"Ready!"
"On three," Dexter counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Pulling his arm back and aiming carefully, Carlo steps forward as he throws the first Soliferrum which flies through the air at the unarmored foam torso. The javelin quickly reaches and impales itself in the right eye of the foam torso which makes blood spew and leak out of the wound. With the second one in his hand, the expert takes aim and throws the second Soliferrum which is sent towards the same target.
As he takes the third one into his hand, the thrown javelin strikes the foam torso with it burying itself into the middle of the chest. While blood spills from the wound, Carlo takes aim at the heater shield before stepping forward and throwing the third javelin at the shield. The Soliferrum strikes the face of the shield making it wobble on its stand while the expert takes the second to last javelin into his right hand.
Pulling his arm back, he takes aim at the armored foam torso before stepping forward and throwing the weapon at the target. The iron javelin strikes one of the steel plates which punches into the armor and making the foam torso bounce a bit. With him aiming the last Soliferrum at the target, Carlo throws it at the armored torso and watches as it strikes between two plates and goes through the rings. Turning to the experts, he shouts, "Done!"
"Alright, let's go check it out," Marcus says as he and the others head over to the targets.
Reaching the unarmored foam torso, Amber states while looking at them, "So, your first two are pretty lethal strikes to this guy. Your second javelin struck right under the heart so, assuming you broke through the rib cage here, you've basically killed him. However, your first struck him in the eye which, based off the weight of the Soliferrum, most likely could break through the skull. So, both potential kill strikes."
"Well, isn't that something," Carlo replies as the experts walk to the other target.
"So, the shield has been struck," Marcus tells the others as he takes the shield off the stand and turns it around, "It's made this pretty heavy and...has actually punched through to the other side. This means that you've rendered the shield useless and would probably force the user to ditch it."
"Looks like it's a great piercing armor from the looks of it," Dexter remarks as he looks at the armored torso.
"Indeed it does," Amber replies, "So, it seems like it's pierced through the armor on this one. How bad we're not sure."
Looking at the damage, Marcus puts down the shield before grabbing the last thrown Soliferrum where it's against the armor. Pulling it out with some difficulty, he reveals the spear tip with about three inches covered in blood.
"So, this got through between two plates on the left side," Marcus tells the other experts, "This amount of blade through any part of the body is bad."
Giving the weapon to Carlo, Marcus quickly moves to the other one with him pulling it out of the steel plate with some ease. As he looks at it, the Jedi sees blood on the tip and says, "And this one managed to get into the chest."
With that, Amber and Dexter open up and remove the plated mail to revealing a two wounds with one bleeding heavily on the left side and a small one on the right. Looking at the wounds, Amber starts to explain, "Alright, so the big one is hitting the lung which seems to be right between the ribs which makes this a fatal wound. The other one isn't doing anything, so we're looking at a surface wound with it just going skin deep."
"Well, that was nice and pretty nice," Dimitry says to Carlo with a smirk, "You were able to land lethal hits on unmoving targets, yet you haven't shown what this will do against something on the move."
"How about I get Vito and show you our answer to that idea?" Carlo replies with a smirk before walking away.
Since the Soliferrum was used by cavalry as well, a second test has set up with this time involving a third target.
On horseback about forty feet away from the targets, Vito is holding five javelins in his left hand as he sees a new armored foam torso plus two new targets. The first is a ballistic gel torso for the unarmored target while a mock up horse with a third foam torso is now in the testing zone.
"Alright, so anything new for the Soliferrum you have?" Marcus asks, as he looks up at the rider.
"Well, these ones have barbs at the back of the spear heads," Vito answers, taking one of the javelins and showing the Jedi, "So they should be harder to pull out of a normal target."
With a nod, Marcus walks to the other experts as Vito gets himself ready with him having the first Soliferrum prepared to be thrown.
"Vito, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, charge!"
Having his horse begin to gallop, Vito holds the first Soliferrum at the ready in his right hand as the animal nears the ballistic gel torso. However, the expert quickly has his horse turn away as he throws the weapon which quickly strikes and goes into the chest of the gel torso. With his horse galloping away, he takes another javelin into his right hand before having his horse circle back around to begin another charge at the targets.
The horse gallops forward towards the trio of targets before having the horse turn away to his right as Vito tosses the second javelin towards the gel torso. The Soliferrum strikes the gel torso through the neck as the expert has his horse circle around while taking a third weapon into his right hand. Heading back towards the targets, the expert takes aim before he has his horse turn to the left while throwing the weapon with all his might.
The Soliferrum flies towards the armored foam torso with it striking the center of the armor making the torso move around as the horse moves in a large circle. Now heading to gallop forward, the horse moves to be about fifteen feet from the fake horse with its rider having the fourth javelin in his right hand. As he's about to pass, Vito throws the weapon with said weapon being sent into the upper right side of the chest at an angle while the horse gallops back.
"Alright, one last javelin," Marcus says as the expert and his horse circle around.
Getting into a charge, Vito holds the reins in his left hand while having the last javelin in his right hand as he waits for the best moment to act. In a few seconds, it happens as he has his horse turn left and throws the Soliferrum with it striking and going into the side of the torso as Vito has the horse gallops to the experts.
"Great job, Vito," Dexter says as the rider slows down his horse and an assistant gently grabs the bridle on the horse. Vito dismounts and joins the other experts heading towards the targets as the assistant leads the exhausted horse away.
"Alright, so let's look at the first target," Amber states as they reach the gel torso and the Soliferrum stuck in it, "The first one went into the left side of the chest close to sternum and between two ribs which will hit the lung and potentially hit the heart. That is a kill shot, and the second one through the neck has hit the spine which can possibly break it. So, we're looking at two lethal wounds."
"Well, I think the barbs will make it harder to pull out if they don't kill," Vito replies with a grin.
"That they would," Amber replies, "Now onto the next target."
The experts move onto the armored torso with Amber looking at the target before saying, "So, I can see that you've gotten into the center of the armor. And by the looks of it, probably got through."
To verify this, she grabs the Soliferrum and tries to move it back only for the foam torso to lean forward on the stand with the javelin.
"Okay, so this hit in the weakest part of the armor," Dexter tells Vito, "If you got through that, then we're dealing with a lethal hit at least."
Turning to the expert, Marcus speaks up by saying, "So, I couldn't help but notice that you keep having your horse dart away from the target when you attacked. Any reason behind that?"
"Yes actually," Vito answers proudly, "I was using a tactic that the Numidian cavalry deployed by Hannibal used where they'd pelt enemies with their javelins and wheel away to keep the enemy from attacking them. They were quoted as being the best horsemen in Africa and one of the most vital elements of his army."
"Well, we'll have to take that into account for the battle," Dexter replies, "However, we still have the last target."
Walking over to the fake horse, the experts look at the foam torso with the javelins in it before Marcus is able to move the target off the horse. Looking at the foam torso, Amber examines it as she tells the others, "So, the first javelin to this target when in at an angle into the right side of the chest. If that gets between the ribs, then you have a nasty puncture to the lung from this angle. The last one hit the torso in the side which could get the intestines and cause a lot of problems, so it's a delayed kill at least."
"So, you're confident that those javelins are perfect?" Dimitry asks Vito.
"Well, of course," Vito answers with confidence, "Especially on horseback, since the light cavalry would already be gone by the time you could do something."
"Oh, I doubt that," Dimitry replies with a smirk before walking off.
Despite the damage done by the Soliferrum, our experts for Vlad Dracula are ready to hit back with their own weapon of choice for medium range.
"When it comes to cavalry, it only works when they can't be countered," Dimitry states as he holds a Halberd in both of his hands, "And Vlad had access to an excellent weapon to take on cavalry."
The Halberd: A polearm combining the blade of an axe and the point of a spear in a form to take on armored foes and cavalry units.
Halberd
Length: 80 inches
Weight: 5.1 pounds
Substance: Steel and wood
"This is the famous Halberd," Dimitry tells the experts as he stands with the weapon in his right hand, "A great polearm used by the infantry to combat any foe and one of several types of polearms that Vlad had access to in his battles."
"That is a great looking weapon," Marcus replies as he looks at the weapon, "Though, what is the spiked hook at the back of the blade for?"
"Ah, that's the best part of this weapon," Dimitry states as he takes the weapon in both hands, "With the hook at the back, it could be used for attack but was commonly used to dismount a rider from his horse."
"Well, we have something to see how that works," Dexter tells him before the experts walk over to the testing area.
To measure the killing power of the Halberd, a test has been set up two targets with one having a twist.
Dimitry looks at the test with a ballistic gel torso on a stand standing on its own at the center of the testing area. Close by is a stand in for a horse which is on a motorized track running past the gel torso with a foam torso on its back.
"Alright, so here's what we have," Amber tells Dimitry, "We have a gel torso and a foam torso on a fake horse coming at you. All we need is you to take out both targets and show that you can counter the cavalry charge."
"Sounds good," Dimitry replies as he gets ready to use the Halberd and Amber joins the other experts safely away from the testing area.
"Dimitry, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Dimitry pulls the Halberd back before thrusting it forward with the spike going into the right side of the gel torso with ease. Pulling it out quickly, the expert brings the weapon back and swings it down onto the head causing the blade to chop into the forehead and crown of the fake head. Bringing it back, he quickly swings the Halberd again with the blade striking the neck and chopping halfway through it.
"Horse is charging!" Dexter says as he presses a button causing the fake horse to slide across the track.
A second chop severs the neck sending the head of the gel torso to the ground before Dimitry steps back as he looks at the moving horse. Spinning the Halberd in his hands, the expert waits until the horse comes next to him before swinging the weapon up at the foam torso. The spiked hook gets around the torso before the power of the swing and the momentum of the horse combine to bring the foam torso tumbling down to the ground.
Kicking the torso over onto its wooden backing, Dimitry steps on the target as the horse stand in reaches the end of the track and spins the weapon back around. With the spike end pointing down at the foam torso, the expert lifts the Halberd up before stabbing down into the foam torso in the center of the chest. Taking it out and spinning the weapon around, Dimitry steps back before looking over and saying, "Done!"
"Nice job!" Dexter exclaims as he and the other experts come over to the testing area.
"Well, two strikes are quick to talk about," Marcus says as he picks up the severed head, "Those two chops to the neck have managed to chop through the neck and decapitate him."
"That is in addition to the chop to the top of the head," Amber replies as she takes the head and looks at the head wound, "With a cut like this, you've gone through the skull and into the head which will strike the brain causing a kill strike."
Moving to the rest of the gel torso while handing the severed head to Dexter, Amber looks at the bleeding wound as she states, "The first strike you did on the torso struck between the ribs which will strike the right lung and piercing it. This is a fatal wound and will cause a kill."
"And the rider has a chest wound which will probably be a fatal wound," Dexter says while looking at the foam torso, "However, you did exactly what you said that weapon can do which means that cavalry would struggle if they get too close."
"If they get too close," Vito remarks as he stands next to Dimitry, "Not all of the cavalry Hannibal had would get that close and we still haven't seen how it'd handle against armor."
"Well, let's see how bronze handles a steel axe blade," Dimitry replies with a smirk.
Another test for the Halberd is quickly set up, this time with the armor worn by Hannibal on a foam torso and the Caetra Shield on a separate stand.
Dimitry stands before the foam torso which is dressed with a Bronze Musculata which also has the pteruges at the bottom and shoulders of the cuirass. The target has its head covered by the Thracian Helmet while the stand holding the Caetra is next to the foam torso. With a nod, the expert takes a step back as he prepares himself and pulls the Halberd back.
"Dimitry, are you ready?"
"Yes!"
"On three," Marcus counts down, "Two, one, go!"
Stepping forward, Dimitry thrusts the Halberd forward towards the shield with the top spike striking the iron boss which redirects the strike. However, the spike goes into the shield face and pierces into it before the weapon is removed from the shield. Moving back, the expert brings the polearm to chop onto the rim of the shield which causes the blade to be embedded into the shield.
Moving the weapon back, the shield comes off the stand before Dimitry quickly gets the Caetra on the floor and steps onto the shield to help pull the blade out of the rim. Kicking the shield a foot away, he moves on as he swings the Halberd to strike and dent the left side of the helmet making the stand clatter as it moves a bit. Pulling the weapon back and stepping to his right, the expert performs another swing which causes the blade of the Halberd to strike the front of the bronze cuirass.
The bronze cuirass dents from the force making the stand wobble a bit as he moves the weapon back and steps back to stand in front of the target. Stepping forward, the expert thrusts the Halberd at the bronze cuirass which makes the stand move back as the weapon glances off with it bending the top spike. Pulling the weapon back, Dimitry looks at the bent spike before turning back and saying, "I think that'd work."
"Right, let's take a look," Dexter says as he and the other experts walk over to the foam torso as Dimitry steps back.
"Alright, so it looks like you've done a bit of damage to this," Marcus states as he picks up the Caetra from the floor, "You did glance off the boss, but it still cause damage to the shield and the blade did cut into the rim. So, it would be pretty bad to be using this against the weapon."
"I could have removed it with the back hook," Dimitry says with a smile, "But taking it by cutting into the rim does the trick as well."
As he looks at the bronze armor, Dexter exclaims, "Okay, I think we have a repeat with the Kilij just with more weight behind it."
"It would appear that you're right," Amber agrees as she looks at the armor, "The blade not only dented it, but has cut a bit into the bronze as well. A blow to the helmet is causing a concussion and possible death, while the strike to the bronze musculata will be breaking bones from the force on it."
"Alright, so it's somewhat good against armor," Vito says as he walks over, "However, your weapon was still damaged and this is against something that wasn't moving. How likely would it be that you can hit a moving target with that polearm."
"Oh, it shouldn't be as difficult as you're making it out to be," Dimitry replies quickly.
Both teams have proven the killing power of their weapons, but which one gets the edge.
"I think I'd have to give it to the Soliferrum," Amber tells Dexter, "The Halberd has more options to it, and both don't need to worry about armor, but the Soliferrum is a ranged weapon by comparison."
"Not just that, but we'll be seeing it more in the simulation," Dexter replies, "When used by both the infantry and the cavalry, it'll be seeing more hits and kills especially when combined with how the cavalry could operate."
For medium range, Hannibal Barca gets the edge with the Soliferrum.
Now that the weapons have been tested, the armor of both warriors have also been analyzed during the testing. So, which one gives its user the edge?
"Honestly, this one is rather straight forward with Vlad getting the edge," Amber says, "Despite the shields being about even, Hannibal is bringing bronze armor which all of Vlad's weapons can take out while his steel armor can resist most of what Hannibal can throw at him."
For armor, Vlad Dracula gets the edge with the Plated Mail, Sallet, and Heater Shield.
With the testing now complete, Dexter will now load the test results and the x-factors gathered by Stevan into the simulation that will determine the winner.
Coming up, the final battle begins. Hannibal Barca or Vlad Dracula, who will become the Deadliest Warrior?
The moment of truth has arrived. It's time to find out who would win in a battle to the death between Hannibal Barca and Vlad Dracula.
For Hannibal Barca, we tested four of the weapons used by him and his mercenaries: the Falcata, the Soliferrum, the Composite Bow, and the War Elephant.
For Vlad Dracula, we tested four weapons from the arsenal used in Wallachia: the Kilij, the Halberd, the Steel Crossbow, and the Handgonne.
For medium range, the Soliferrum went toe to toe with the Halberd.
"The Halberd does have more options," Dexter states, "But the Soliferrum has more range and has more means of getting kills in the simulation."
Edge: Hannibal Barca
For close range, the Kilij clashed against the Falcata.
"Both swords are good at what they're designed for," Marcus summarizes, "But the Kilij has more power to its strikes and can kill even with the bronze armor on.
Edge: Vlad Dracula
For long range, the Composite Bow duked it out with the Steel Crossbow.
"This one was a wash," Amber explains, "Both weapons have their drawbacks and that actually limits which one gets the edge since the other counters them easily."
Edge: Draw
Finally, for special weapons, the Handgonne took on the War Elephant.
"Handgonne takes this one easily," Dexter says, "Gunpowder is a game changer while the War Elephant is a wild card at best."
Edge: Vlad Dracula
With the weapon testing complete, our experts are now ready to input the x-factors gathered by our researcher Stevan. These x-factors will be graded on a scale of 1 to 100, with the average score being a 70.
"Alright, Stevan," Marcus says, standing at a table with the other three experts, "What have you found with these two leaders?"
"Well, since they're leaders we can start with the x-factor of troop quality," Stevan replies, "This one was actually a bit tricky since Hannibal made use of mostly mercenaries and a few citizen soldiers while Vlad had levied troops for his infantry and then mercenaries plus nobles for his cavalry. This allows Hannibal to have more experienced and professional troops, but Vlad won't be as hampered if he lost someone since they could potentially use the same weapon if needed. In the end, Hannibal ended up with an 82 while Vlad lagged a bit at 78."
"Speaking of experience, that's a rather obvious one for these two," Amber points out.
"Of course it is, and here Hannibal got a rating of 86 while Vlad got a rating of 76," Stevan tells the others, "Vlad did fight against the Saxons of Transylvania and the Ottoman Empire, but Hannibal served under his brother-in-law Hasdrubal the Fair in the army before taking over. This gave Hannibal far more time to actually get experience before he entered combat compared to Vlad."
"Well, it looks like Hannibal has a bit of an edge so far," Dexter comments.
"Funny you mention that since the next x-factor is intimidation," Stevan states, "And here, Hannibal got a rating of 80 while Vlad...got a perfect rating."
The other experts look at Stevan in shock as Marcus asks, "A...perfect rating?"
"Yeah, Vlad got a rating of 100 for this one," Stevan answers, "Now, Hannibal does use War Elephants in his fights and could cause terror to those who never seen them especially with him sending them out first. However, gunpowder is something that he and his men have never faced so it poses the same terror as the elephant. Vlad is also known for impaling his enemies, and we have to take into account that we're talking about the man who made Mehmed II, one of the greatest emperors of the Ottomans, retreat. Overall, Hannibal has nothing to match what Vlad has done."
"That is true," Amber replies, "But it won't matter if Vlad can't back it up."
"Which actually lead easily into metallurgy," Stevan says with a smile, "Hannibal and his men used weapons using steel and iron though their armor was mostly bronze...if they had any to protect themselves. By comparison, Vlad and his men use steel weapons while their armor was more varied based on various factors like wealth though they did use armor. So, here Hannibal got a score of 73 while Vlad got a score of 88."
"Then that just leaves the last x-factor," Marcus states.
"Which in this case is the x-factor of generalship where Hannibal tips the tide again," Stevan tells the other experts, "Vlad did lead his army well and fought on the front lines, but he had to deal with desertion due to his brother's messages which does bring his score down. By contrast, Hannibal was able to command and motivate his troops against his foes so this lead to him gaining a 91 while Vlad got an 82."
"Alright, let's get the x-factors into the simulation," Dexter says.
With the x-factors now being placed in the simulation, Dexter will load the data into the program that will simulate a thousand battles between Hannibal and six of his soldiers against Vlad and six of his summoned warriors.
It's a battle of opposites.
Battlefield Genius...
(Hannibal is shown leading his cavalry to attack Celtic warriors fighting his Iberian mercenaries from behind and chops into one of the Celt's head with his Falcata.)
Versus Intimidation Master
(Vlad and a few of his men sneak behind an Ottoman patrol who look at impaled victims on stakes before Vlad shoots the leader in the back with his Handgonne.)
"That's all the data, so let's begin," Dexter says, turning around and pressing some keys on the keyboard.
-X-x-X-
In a lightly forested of land which is quickly giving way to grassland, eight men are moving through the area with a War Elephant walking with them. As a Carthaginian man in a plain tunic walks with the animal to keep it under control, the leader of these men is wearing a indigo tunic over his bronze musculata with a Falcata on his hip and a caetra shield in his left hand. As he rides on his horse, he's flanked on either side by a Numidian wearing leopard skin and an Iberian wearing a bronze helmet.
Both of these men have small shields with a short sword on their waists while carrying five Soliferrum each for use in combat. The Equite Caetratii looks to his right on alert as two archers are behind them with one being Numidian and the other being Libyan. They both are wearing simple tunics with hats to block out the sun with Composite Bows in their left hands while their belts hold a dagger and a quiver full of arrows.
Walking next to these two are two final Iberians who are lightly armored with bronze helmets and able to be told apart due to their equipment. The first of them has no armor outside of his helmet and caetra shield with a Gladius on his belt while having five Soliferrum to use for combat. The second one has a bronze cardiophylax over his chest and a scutum shield with a Soliferrum in his right hand while a Falcata is held on his belt.
These men are Hannibal Barca and six of his mercenaries who are traveling north before heading into Roman territory. The Carthaginian leader has sent scouts on head to find any threat to his new invasion plans and is now heading to see why they haven't returned.
Hannibal Barca: 7
Not far away in an area of grassland with a forest of stakes in it, seven men are waiting around with a man in a plain tunic and trousers walks over with a bottle of wine to a small table. On this table is a golden goblet and a Handgonne with a man wearing plated mail over black clothing and a heater shield on his left arm standing next to it with a Kilij in a scabbard on his belt. This man has his visor up to show his face as he looks over to two men with one on horseback while the other is close by next to two other horses.
The first man is a noble wearing steel plate armor and a sallet with the visor raised with him having a Kilij in a scabbard on his belt and a heater shield on his left arm. The other man is a mercenary wearing a brigandine over his mail hauberk and a sallet over his head with a Messer in a scabbard on his belt while holding a Handgonne. Nearby are two more men who hold Halberds in their right hands while having different armor and sidearm.
The first is a levied man who has a mail hauberk over his torso and a kettle hat with a Messer in a scabbard on his belt. The other, a noble man with more money, has a steel breastplate over his mail hauberk with a sallet without a visor on his head and an Arming Sword in the scabbard on his belt. Close by are two more levied men with one using a windlass to span the bowstring of his Steel Crossbow while the other holds an unloaded one over his left shoulder.
The third levied man is wearing a gambeson over his body with a kettle hat on his head with a Misercorde dagger in a sheath on his belt. With the final levied man, he is wearing a Brigandine over his torso with a sallet covering his head and an Arming Sword in a scabbard on his belt. He looks over as the man with the wine bottle pours some out into the golden goblet for their leader.
These men are Vlad Dracula and six of his warriors as they had come to the forest of stakes with them now getting ready to return to their forces. As they wait, Vlad nods to his servant to stop pouring before taking the goblet from the table to satisfy his thirst.
Hannibal Barca: 7
Vlad Dracula: 7
Hannibal rides on his horse as the trees clear up with him and his men leaving the forested area to enter the grassland that it leads to. However, the group halt about ten feet from the forest as they look upon the forest of stakes which have various men impaled upon them. Hannibal and his mercenaries stare in shock, having seen punishment by crucifixion...but this was almost ghastly with the amount of bodies seen.
Among the impaled bodies, Hannibal easily recognizes the scouts he had sent before.
As he's about to take a drink from the goblet, Vlad stops as the mounted nobleman alerts his Voivode who turns around to see the eight men and strange animal about seventy feet away from them. Putting the goblet down, he orders the servant to return to the army who nods and rushes off to get away from the coming fight. Motioning to the first crossbowman, the man comes to his leader with his Steel Crossbow and a bolt which he gives to the Voivode.
Turning his horse to face his men, Hannibal quickly orders them to prepare for battle knowing that whoever killed his scouts are a threat to his planned second invasion. The horsemen quickly move to be ready for a charge with the four men on foot spreading out to avoid getting hit by anything. Looking to the other Carthaginian, Hannibal orders him to keep the War Elephant from going crazy with the man nodding and begins to turn to do as orders.
At least, until a bolt strikes him in the back of the head sending his body to the ground.
This startles the others as Hannibal turns his head to see Vlad and his men, in the middle of the field next to the table, with the Voivode smiling at the strike. As the royal returns the Steel Crossbow to the levied man, Hannibal points out the men and orders his archers to attack with the two drawing arrows to begin their attack. As his two crossbowmen span their weapons with the loading devises, Vlad lowers his visor to protect his face as both archers fire their arrows at them.
However, the arrows land harmlessly among them as the two levied man finish spanning their Steel Crossbows and raise them while loading a steel bolt. The two men raise their weapons and fire them with the bolts flying through the air with one landing short from its intended target.
Fortunately, the other is accurate hitting the Numidian archer in the chest making him cry out before falling down dead.
Hannibal Barca: 6
Vlad Dracula: 7
Deciding to act to prevent their foes from gaining an advantage, the mounted noble draws his Kilij and has his horse gallop forward to attack the opposing infantry. However, the Numidian horseman charges forward as well with the Equite caetratii has his horse gallop to circle around the other force.
The two horseman charge at each other before the Numidian has his horse turn away and he throws a Soliferrum at the mounted noble. Unable to react in time, the nobleman gets the Soliferrum through his neck killing the man and making him slump on his horse which races away from the battle.
Hannibal Barca: 6
Vlad Dracula: 6
The Libyan archer fires another arrow quickly flies through the air and strikes the levied Halberdier in the upper left arm making him cry out. As this happens, Hannibal orders his infantry to get the War Elephant to begin its attack with them quickly getting it into position. Then, the Iberian footmen begin to poke its legs with their Soliferrum making it cry out as charges forward towards the other men.
Seeing the charging animal, the levied men grow terrified and start to back away only for Vlad to call for his men to stand their ground. Picking up his Handgonne from the table, the Voivode has his mercenary come next to him as the others get close to stand their ground with him.
The two men wait with them striking matches to prepare to fire as the War Elephant closes the distance fast. Then, within fifteen feet of them, Vlad and the mercenary put the matches to the touch holes causing the early firearms to fire with a small plume of smoke and a loud bang. Startled by the noise, Hannibal and his horsemen try to calm their mounts down as the footmen are step back from the sudden noise.
However, the one affected worst is the War Elephant who cries out and stops its charge as it becomes terrified by the sudden smoke and noise.
Vlad and his men watch as the large animal freaks out and turns around to get away with the Voivode smiling as he gets an idea. Quickly trading with the injured levied man, Vlad and the noble halberdier move forward and poke the animal's rear with their Halberds as his crossbowmen and mercenary shout at the beast. This makes the War Elephant panic and runs as fast as it can away from them...
...causing it to charge right back at the mercenaries of Hannibal!
The Iberians quickly scatter with the Libyan starting to run away only to trick and fall to the ground with his bow leaving his hand. As he moves to get up, the War Elephant closes the distance and – in its panic – steps on the man's head crushing it with ease as it runs from the battle.
Hannibal Barca: 5
Vlad Dracula: 6
Smirking at the other mercenaries scattered with Hannibal riding around and call to them, Vlad turns to see the levied halberdier finishing reloading his Handgonne before calling to him to trade their weapons back. However, as the the levied man nods, the Numidian horseman rides past behind the man as he throws his Soliferrum striking the man in his upper back. The iron javelin goes through the mail hauberk killing the levied man and sending him to the ground with the firearm.
Hannibal Barca: 5
Vlad Dracula: 5
This catches the Voivode and his men by surprise as one of the levied crossbowmen turns to see the Equite caetratii charging at them before turning away while throwing his Soliferrum. Flying at its target, the Soliferrum strikes the man in the center of the chest with the gambeson doing little to stop it as the levied man falls to the ground dead.
Hannibal Barca: 5
Vlad Dracula: 4
Seeing the situation and having been rallied by their leader, the two Iberian footmen quickly ready their javelins before throwing them at their enemies. With two javelins landing close to them from the footmen, Vlad quickly orders his men to gather close as he tries to head to the two horses which have remained where they are.
However, the Numidian horseman comes in and throws a Soliferrum as he turns away to prevent being attacked with the iron javelin striking the ground in front of Vlad. The mercenary, now carrying both reloaded firearms, sees his employer nearly hit by the weapon before turning to see the Equite caetratii riding to attack the man. Tossing one of the weapons to the ground ahead, the mercenary calls out to the Voivode making him see the horseman before putting the match to his Handgonne and firing it.
The bullet doesn't hit the horse, but the animal freaks out from the noise making it stop and rear up with the Iberian trying to calm his horse down. Seeing this, Vlad smiles as he rushes forward and reaches up with his Halberd to get the hook around the man's body. The Iberian is dragged off of his horse with the animal galloping away as its rider sees Vlad standing over him.
One downward thrust makes the rider cry out before the weapon is twisted making him spit up before dying as the polearm is left in his body.
Hannibal Barca: 4
Vlad Dracula: 4
Having tossed his spent Handgonne, the mercenary gets himself onto his horse and draws his Messer as Vlad grabs the other Handgonne from the ground. As the crossbowman with his loaded weapon and halberdier come over, the mercenary sees Hannibal taking the last Soliferrum from his caetratii. Holding it with his shield in his left hand, the Carthaginian general draws his Falcata and orders his footmen to charge with the Iberians drawing their swords.
Seeing this, the mercenary charges forward with Hannibal doing the same as his Iberian mercenaries follow after him to support their leader. As this happens, Vlad and the crossbowman spot the Numidian horseman heading right for them before they aim at him. They both fire their weapons which strikes the horse sending it falling forward dead and sending the Numidian flying forward, loosing his shield and Soliferrum.
At the same time, the mercenary reaches Hannibal and tries to slash at him only for the general to counter with a chop. This causes the mercenary to scream as his hand is severed from his arm before the Iberian footmen stop his horse and pull him off. Unable to defend himself, the mercenary is stabbed several times by the gladius of the caetratii and his neck hacked by the Falcata of the scutarii.
Hannibal Barca: 4
Vlad Dracula: 3
As the Carthaginian general stops his horse, the Numidian gets to his feet to see the Voivode tossing his spent Handgonne and drawing his Kilij while charging forward. Drawing his own short sword, he tries to attack only for the heater shield to block it and Vlad to behead the Numidian with ease.
Hannibal Barca: 3
Vlad Dracula: 3
With the final horseman dead, Vlad turns and rushes back to his horse as his levied crossbowman tosses his spent Steel Crossbow and draws his Arming Sword. Getting to his horse and into the saddle, Vlad Dracula orders his men to charge before having his horse gallop forward. Hannibal has his horse gallop as well with his Iberian mercenaries following after him leaving the other dead mercenary behind.
Both leaders have their horses move to attack the footmen from the side with Hannibal trying to zero in on the halberdier. However, the nobleman stops and thrusts his polearm forward forcing the Carthaginian general to have his horse move away to avoid it. Vlad, on the other hand, is able to get next to the caetratii and swings his Kilij decapitating the man with the body collapsing to the ground.
Hannibal Barca: 2
Vlad Dracula: 3
As the footmen reach each other, the scutarii raises his scutum and easily blocks a slash from the levied man's Arming Sword before pushing forward. This allows the Iberian to thrust his Falcata which goes through the neck making the levied man freeze before falling as the sword is pulled out.
However, the scutum is suddenly hooked by the bottom of the Halberd blade and pulled out of the Iberian's hand. Acting fast, the nobleman brings his polearm into a downward swing from the side causing the Halberd to chop into the neck of the scutarii. Ripping the blade out, he steps back as the last mercenary drops to the ground with his neck bleeding heavily.
Hannibal Barca: 1
Vlad Dracula: 2
Hearing something coming from behind, the nobleman turns around as Hannibal throws the Soliferrum which strikes the man through his eye. Freezing for a moment, the halberdier drops his weapon and falls to the ground as Hannibal turns his horse seeing Vlad and his mount facing him.
Hannibal Barca: 1
Vlad Dracula: 1
Both men wait for a second before they charge forward with their horses galloping at full speed and reaching each other as they swing at their enemy. The Kilij is aimed low and strikes the bronze musculata worn by Hannibal as the Falcata strikes and glances off the sallet worn by Vlad. As the horses pass each other and keep galloping, Hannibal is sent to the ground and tumbles a bit as Vlad is stunned and nearly falls off his own horse though is able to stay on his mount.
Getting to his feet and wincing in pain, Hannibal watches his horse gallop away into the lightly forested area before turning around and seeing his foe stopping his horse. Dismounting with his senses coming back, Vlad sees the general still ready for a fight and rushes forward with his foe running to meet him. The two men reach each other with Hannibal performing a chop with his Falcata only for it to be blocked by the heater shield of the Voivode.
Vlad quickly tries to perform a horizontal swing only for it to be blocked by the caetra the Carthaginian general has and said general tries to hack at his helmet. However, the Voivode steps back while swinging his Kilij striking the Falcata sending it out of the way to keep himself safe. Going for a thrust, Hannibal tries to get past his foe's weaponry only for it to go into the heater shield and is forced to draw the sword back to avoid loosing his hand.
Both men swing their swords only for them to meet and clash by chance causing both men to draw their swords back. However, Vlad suddenly steps forward and uses his body behind his heater shield to push Hannibal back which makes Hannibal stumble back a bit. With this opening, the Voivode steps forward again and swings his Kilij down striking the helmet worn by the Carthaginian general.
Upon being struck, the Thracian Helmet dents badly from the blow and Hannibal steps back before collapsing to his knees with him having a concussion. Vlad raises his Kilij to finish his foe, but stops himself as he gets and idea and raises his visor to show him smirking.
The scene changes to show a scenic forest before a painful scream is heard over the calming visual.
Standing next to the table as he puts his shield against it and without his helmet on, Vlad picks up the goblet full of wine with his left hand as he lets out a sigh. Turning to the forest of impaled people, Vlad looks to the newest one with Hannibal Barca slowly sliding down it and raises his goblet to toast the fallen general.
Hannibal Barca: 0
Vlad Dracula: 1
Taking a sip from the goblet, Vlad Dracula lowers the goblet as he raises his bloodied Kilij into the air as he lets out a cry to signal his victory.
-X-x-X-
"Out of a thousand battle, Vlad Dracula was able to secure victory just about fifty-seven percent of the time," Dexter explains, "This is thanks to better weapons and armor along with his troops being a bit more adaptable and intimidation being the cherry on top."
Hannibal didn't go down without a fight, managing to claim a total of 432 kills. His Soliferrum and Composite Bow were his best weapons while the War Elephant ended up as the weakest weapon in the simulation.
Hannibal
War Elephant: 45
Composite Bow: 128
Falcata: 89
Soliferrum: 170
Total Kills: 432
However, Vlad Dracula ended up claiming victory with a total of 568 kills. The Steel Crossbow and the Halberd ended up with as his best weapons, but the Kilij lagged behind the rest.
Vlad Dracula
Handgonne: 123
Steel Crossbow: 185
Kilij: 98
Halberd: 162
Total Kills: 568
However, it was the x-factors that played a large role in this battle. Despite Hannibal being a better general with more experience and slightly better troops, it was ultimately Vlad having better metallurgy and his perfect intimidation that tipped the scales in his favor.
X-Factors:
Troop Quality: 82/78
Experience: 86/76
Intimidation: 80/100
Metallurgy: 73/88
Generalship: 91/82
"Despite Hannibal getting more edges, Vlad's edges ultimately decided this fight," Stevan explains, "His intimidation ensured Hannibal couldn't be on his game as a general and his better weapons and armor ensured his men could stay safe and kill their foes with ease."
"Hannibal did have advantages that he was able to use in the fight," Marcus says, "But Vlad ultimately came out on top with what he was bringing to the table."
"I think the verdict for special weapons shows why Vlad won in this fight," Amber remarks, "Much like the Handgonne, Vlad had the means of changing the rules of the fight in a way that Hannibal couldn't counter."
"I think a problem here is that this was a squad on squad fight," Carlo calmly reasons, "I think Hannibal would have won if this fight was to be two armies fighting."
"Well, the great general has been cut down," Remus says with a smirk, "And he's joining many others in Vlad's forest of stakes."
(Vlad Dracula is on his horse looking at the new additions to the forest of stakes before turning to see his men bringing back the War Elephant. He smirks, thinking about how to use it to intimidate anyone who dares threaten his people in his court.)
No real animals were harmed in the writing of this chapter.
Next time:
Landsknecht Doppelsöldner: The German mercenaries who took on great risk for extra pay during the Renaissance.
Vs...
English Musketeers: The mass firing infantry who fought for the English Parliament during the English Civil Wars.
WHO IS DEADLIEST?
Ray Tanaka: Hey, everyone! So, life has been a pain in the butt and even tried to screw up this chapter at the eleventh hour, but my back up file saved the original so here it is! I have a lot to say, but first some house keeping regarding Vlad Dracula. First, I found out that he actually had access to steel plate armor during the writing of this chapter. Now, I had already written a good chunk of this when I found out so unwilling to rewrite that - plus for the sake of fairness - I stuck with the Plated Mail for his body armor. However, it will pop up for Vlad for this and the Historical Series so good bit of knowledge to know.
Second, speaking of the Historical Series, I no longer find his fight with Khutulun valid on the grounds of previous arrogance on my part. Since writing that battle, I did find evidence that the Turko-Mongol Saber was as big as I was finding it and...I really dislike that I brushed it off as nonsense. So, while I would agree with my past verdict, that part of the match is why I no longer consider it valid. Anyway, let's talk about this match and the reason behind it.
Honestly, this match was done mostly to get my own perspective on the fight LONG after DeadAliveManiac did his for the Back for Blood chapter in his Deadliest Warrior story. I wasn't sure who I'd have these two fight and then ultimately decided that I'd just do this one since it was in my list for the Historical Series for a good time already. Now, this isn't an attack on DAM or his story, since I actually did enjoy reading his story and I did enjoy the unique matches he had (plus he's why I know about the English Musketeer). However...I disagree on his fights regarding Hannibal, though I'd get into more when I do Pyrrhus of Epirus vs. Julius Caesar (and yes, I intend to do that one). Here, it was essentially saying that the Hand Cannon would lose the edge to the War Elephant, which you can tell I disagree with.
Now, I found conflicting evidence (as stated in the chapter) regarding if the Carthaginian War Elephants had riders or now but after looking at the sizes of the closest equivalent to the North African Elephant, I personally lean towards them not having riders. Plus, the main strategy for Hannibal with his Elephants was having the charge in front of the army unlike Pyrrhus who had his flank his enemies which required riders to pull off. That's why I ultimately decided to exclude a rider, especially since in the show they just had Hannibal sending the War Elephant on its own to attack the Mongols under Genghis Khan.
So yeah, basically Hannibal Barca ended up in a bad situation against Vlad Dracula, which is pretty obvious...though they will be popping up again when I do my Back for Blood and Back for Redemption fights. And before anyone asks: NO, I will not do Sun Tzu vs. Vlad Dracula. That is completely unbalanced (even more than this one) and really should never have happened on the show. Also, I will be doing Pancho Villa vs. Theodore Roosevelt...in fact, in this first part so within the first twenty chapters.
Anyway, as for next time...truth be told, it's actually the third fight I had here. I originally had one of several special fights lined up...but wasn't sure how to pull it off when I got to writing this chapter, I changed it to Aztec Jaguar vs. Apache. However, then I realized about a month or two ago that I'd have four matches in a row with bows, followed by a modern warrior match...and another match with a bow in it! So, quick shuffling of chapters later and now the Landsknetch match is popping up now rather than halfway down the list for the first part like I had. Hope you guys are ready for that one, and I hope you all enjoyed this one.