The Creature stayed at the center of its fleshy domain. The new puppets stood waiting silently around it. After a moment, it used the fleshy wall to write clear words.
"Now that you are all ready, I believe it's time for us to expand our reach."
The puppet read the words and asked, "But Master, why must we expand? We have no enemies."
The Creature listened carefully. It paused and thought "It's not that we have none but rather we are isolated from them." It wrote again on the wall.
"It's not that we have none but rather we are isolated from them. As I grew stronger I can sense that there are many other beasts nearby but they all are not moving outside their range. This should be their territories."
The puppet revolted a little and spoke, "But Master, if they have their territories why must we expand? They can't leave it, can they?"
The Creature listened again. It paused and thought "All creatures are not like us who can consume food and they don't have subordinates that can survive without eating like you guys." It wrote on the wall.
"All creatures are not like us who can consume food and they don't have subordinates that can survive without eating like you guys. They also hunt but that's because there is food. Once it runs out I cannot tell if they will attack or not but if they do then we may be in danger from how weak we are currently."
The puppet listened and nodded as it made sense. It spoke, "Then what do you want us to do Master?"
The Creature thought for a brief moment. It paused and thought "East of us, I sense a creature whose energy level is weak so as long as all of you team up it's easy to defeat them." It wrote, "East of us, I sense a creature whose energy level is weak so as long as all of you team up it's easy to defeat them and their subordinates don't seem to be able to fight back as I sense no energy from them whatsoever."
The puppet listened and spoke, "As you wish Master, we will capture it as your command." It rushed off into the tunnels at once.
The other puppets and the sparrow chased after him. They jumped out into the open air. The sparrow flew straight into the skies as it went in front to gather intel. Within a few minutes the sparrow noticed a large deer with antlers made up of vines and fruit bushes. Many smaller deer stood nearby, staying close to their leader.
The sparrow immediately screeched with a high pitch, catching the attention of the deer beasts. The herd quickly turned and ran. The puppets arrived soon after but since there was nothing there the puppet asked, "Where did they go?"
The sparrow looked far away using its sharp vision and spoke, "Over there, 5 of them in the north. The leader is at the back."
The puppet understood and signaled the other puppets. They nodded and rushed through, leaving trails of dust behind them. The puppet too began to rush and jump from tree to tree. The sparrow spoke, "Hold my talon!" The puppet jumped and held its talons tightly as the sparrow increased speed extremely fast and was above the herd in just a few seconds.
The puppet seeing the herd get in position let go of the talons as it dived through the air. It used its tentacles at the back to propel itself forward as it landed heavily on top of the large deer.
The deer roared loudly as it kicked the air trying to throw the puppet off but the puppet held strong despite the resistance. It used its flesh tentacles to wrap around the legs of the deer tightly. The deer seeing itself helpless roared at the herd as they tried to run again but the other puppets caught up as they leaped on the fleeing herd, stopping their escape completely.
The large deer seeing its herd in danger used its power. Its horns glowed bright green and attacked the puppet but the puppet was quick as it leaped off the deer at the last moment. The deer tried to focus at the captured herd but the sparrow dived down and attacked the eye of the deer causing it to roar in sharp pain.
The puppet rushed right after with its tentacles but the deer sensed it and attacked with branches and roots bursting from within the ground. The puppet moved through them with precise movements as it advanced towards the deer. The deer used its powers to close the branches and roots to crush the puppet but the puppet leaped off a root and propelled itself just in time before they closed completely. It moved through the ground after rolling and stabilizing itself.
The deer tried to attack again but a thick tentacle soon caught both of its antlers. The deer was smashed hard into the ground. The puppet propelled itself using the antlers to land firmly on its back and spoke, "Don't try to resist. Your herd is under our control. Either you follow us to our base or have your entire herd and yourself killed here."
The words struck the deer deeply as it looked at the herd. The others were far weaker than itself and couldn't even struggle like it could. After much consideration it spoke, "Fine but you better not harm my men or I won't mind attacking you even if I was to die by your hands."
The puppet listened and nodded as it spoke, "You better remember your words and not resist on the way. We will now be returning to our master so you better stay silent." The deer could not help but nod. The herd was freed from the puppets' grip. The puppet got off its back and looked at the sparrow and spoke, "Lead the way."
The sparrow that was circling above nodded as it flew back toward the cave. The group followed the path through the dense forests, kicking up dust in their paths as they moved.