Saying that the losses were due to the squad's disarray was an oversimplification. Maintaining a standard formation may not have lessened the damage.
Li Yao was famously adept at using tools or scrolls, and he could bring out extraordinary effects even with very ordinary scrolls.
Of course, the core was that the guy was rich. Who else could afford to spend like this?
Guilds were essentially interest groups, so naturally, they wouldn't act like this. Individuals, even less so. Wealthy players could spend on high-quality gear, pets, etc., there were countless ways to spend money, not like this.
They hadn't realized this point at all, and getting ready for combat was useless.
In reality, a basic Swamp Scroll had similar effects, but it was easy to be spotted, and thieves' detection skills could find them out.
For a thief to get higher-level detection skills, a lot of training time is required.
