"He's always had someone to answer to above him before this, and furthermore he's never been an insurgent but always the one with the overwhelming numbers. Perhaps he doesn't do well quite this undirected and unsupplied with even the possibility of reinforcements. Maybe he didn't think the creatures would want to make independent strikes, or didn't trust their initiative. Maybe he has some plan running in parallel, poisoning our larder or something, I'll want to check on that actually come to think of it."