Note 散 here is sǎn (3rd tone, 'scattered'), not sàn ('to scatter'). The set phrase 散兵游勇 ('stragglers and wandering soldiers') is the most common context - it figuratively means 'unaffiliated people / lone freelancers' in modern usage.
culture
In the game Genshin Impact (《原神》), 散兵 is the in-game name of the playable character Scaramouche / Wanderer - by far the most common context in which younger Chinese speakers will hear the word.
