The reason they acted this way was simple: both understood that this was a bargaining chip that could be used in future negotiations with King Béla of Hungary.
For countries outside of Magyar, internal turmoil in Hungary was advantageous to them.
The long Poland Great Uprising decades ago and its eventual suppression illustrated this point; the suppression allowed various nations to gain benefits from the chaos.
The Empire gained Poland's submission, while Rostislav gained allies, and only Poland paid a heavy price for its restoration.
Of course, the premise was that this turmoil would not spread beyond Hungary.
If it did, the situation would revert to the initial stage of the Poland Great Uprising, where various nations would unite to help Poland quell the unrest, preventing the spread of chaos, but nothing more.
Further actions would depend on whether the Árpád Dynasty was willing to learn from the Piast Dynasty.
Therefore, for the possibility of King Béla seeking foreign aid and selling off various interests in the future, those pagans could not be completely annihilated, nor could they suffer too many blows.
They did not want these pagan rebels to be eliminated due to insufficient strength.
Rostislav and Siczech both realized this, and thus they now exchanged knowing glances, a shared smile in their eyes.
However, the cavalry who had charged with them were all dejected.
After finally defeating the enemy, they had been ready to reap the spoils and even slay the enemy chieftain, but they were ordered to halt their advance, forced to watch the enemy infantry escape.
This was money; capturing one could sell them into slavery.
Many Rostislav still remembered how they captured slaves in Wallachia and sold them to Greeks, making a considerable profit.
But the nobles were unwilling and helpless; they could only endure.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield behind them, the stubborn pagans were finally annihilated.
These people fought to the last moment, many shouting the names of their gods before they died.
Fanatics died with their backs to their totems and banners, displaying their will and proving their faith to their gods.
However, just as the Christian warriors were about to begin their pursuit, harvesting wealth and slaves, they received a startling command.
The entire army was to regroup as planned, with no pursuit.
The commanders gave a very reasonable explanation: to prevent a possible pagan attack.
No one could find fault with this, and although they grumbled internally, they could only obey.
As the adrenaline subsided, fatigue washed over everyone.
The soldiers mustered their last strength to gather together, forming a battle line once more.
Many still walked with the support of their comrades, all holding their breath, not allowing themselves to completely relax.
After taking their positions, no one sat or lay down; they all leaned on each other, even if their legs felt as heavy as lead, they would not sit.
These veterans knew that if they sat down or lay down to rest immediately after a fierce battle, they would not be able to stand up for at least half an hour.
Since the commanders now said there might still be enemies, how could they allow themselves to fall into such a prolonged state of weakness?
Standing and leaning on each other now could also help them recover their strength, and although this was in some ways more tiring than fighting in a battle formation, it was all they could do.
It was also fortunate that these men were elites, which allowed them to muster their last strength and will to form a battle line.
Only these veterans could do this; ordinary conscripts would have certainly collapsed by now.
As the pagan deserters fled into the distance, the battlefield became empty.
Apart from the Christian warriors who still stood, there were only piles of corpses and a few abrupt mountains of bodies.
Fortunately, most of the bodies belonged to the pagans, as the Christian side was far superior in both battlefield skill and equipment, which greatly enhanced their survival capabilities on the battlefield.
On the other side, the heavy cavalry, a mix of warriors from various factions, were changing horses.
The Magyar did not lack horses; they simply mounted fresh ones.
Their original warhorses were already exhausted from the battle, and if they continued to fight, they would surely die on the battlefield, which would also severely hinder the cavalry's combat effectiveness.
After the heavy cavalry had changed their horses, and Rostislav and Siczech had entrusted matters to their respective deputies, they led their troops on horseback towards Fehérvár, where support was still needed.
They did not bring the infantry, because after a fierce battle, the infantry's condition was clearly no longer suitable for participating in another fight; that would likely exhaust many to death.
The Christians entered through the city gate that Rostislav and his men had used to exit.
Upon seeing the scene there, Rostislav was very grateful that he had left a detachment of personal guards when he departed, otherwise, they truly would not have been able to enter the city.
As for why the Moscow Prince said this, it was because the personal guards who remained to defend the city gate had encountered several waves of pagan attacks during that time.
The number of these pagans was far greater than theirs.
After repelling the initial wave, the personal guards were helpless and could only continuously retreat.
But in the end, they held their ground by stubbornly defending the tower, maintaining their presence as a stubborn nail.
And when the Christian heavy cavalry arrived, they decisively charged out of the tower, forcibly dispersing the pagans who were surrounding the gate.
These pagans, who were essentially a mob, simply could not withstand these professional warriors and could only watch as they opened the gate.
Then, the heavy cavalry surged in, charging into the rioting crowd and trampling the pagans.
The pagans had only managed to force the personal guards into the tower by relying on their numbers.
Now that the Christians had the numerical advantage, they naturally could only retreat in disarray.
As the pagans routed, Rostislav and Siczech intentionally slowed their pace, driving them forward.
Those who ran slowly were killed outright, and occasionally a few arrows were shot to make them run faster.
This was a tried-and-true tactic, one both had used in many places; routing soldiers would help them accomplish many things and avoid many battles.
The pagans along the way were swept up by this fleeing army, as anyone seeing heavy cavalry driving their panicked comrades would naturally be terrified and begin to flee.
Even the bravest fanatics could only follow this routed army; if they did not, their fate would either be trampled to death by the crowd or by the hooves of the heavy cavalry driving the crowd.
As the pagans collapsed and the citizens of Fehérvár saw the cross banners atop the heavy cavalry, everyone realized that their forces had arrived, and support had finally come.
The arrival of support ignited courage in people's hearts and gave them the confidence to fight the invaders who were destroying their homes.
Many citizens grabbed their self-defense weapons and rushed out of their homes, killing the frantically fleeing pagans.
Some were even beaten to death; the sheep had now become bloodthirsty beasts.
And the local gangs who had been hiding since the beginning of the riot also sprang into action.
These rats were very sensitive to such matters, which allowed them to avoid many things.
Therefore, they had hidden before everything began, and now that everything was winding down, they naturally came out to show off, letting the neighbors witness their abilities, which would make collecting protection fees easier in the future.
The pagans suddenly discovered that in an instant, this city, which they had once dominated at will, had risen in rebellion.
Those cowards now possessed immense courage, and they were torturing the pagans with methods no less brutal than the pagans themselves.
The captives who fell into their hands met a terrible end.
Many pagans recalled the sound of the horn they had once heard; at the time, they all knew that horn meant retreat.
But the city was now at their mercy, so how could they retreat?
Perhaps those outside had made a mistake, or perhaps they wanted to steal their spoils, and thus resorted to such a trick.
And under such greedy speculation, these people lost their lives; as the saying goes, good words cannot persuade a ghost determined to die, and this was proven true here.
And in such a situation, the Christian reinforcements arrived at the square in front of the royal palace, where the largest group of pagans, and the traitor, Zhe'erji, were located.
And with the heavy cavalry's charge, their fate was clear.
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