Both sides had gone mad. Ordinary soldiers didn't know who Prairie Fire was; they were engaged in a genuine fight to the death, only to find out from their leader that it was all just a performance.
It would have been fine if they just overwhelmed the enemy with their attacks, but what a turn of events, the enemy had buried explosives.
Everyone was scared shitless, only to realize it was a sham.
Everyone was furious, not just with Li Yao, but even more so with their own leader. Damn it, this involved tens of thousands of people from both sides; their military formation was thrown into disarray by a single person's scare tactic. If word got out, they would be a laughingstock unable to hold their heads up high.
It was fine for the NPCs, but for the players, they really couldn't hold their heads up high, such was the entertainment value. Even though they thought this was just a small trick Li Yao used to save face because he couldn't escape, at least the trick worked.
