He soon found Yuan standing a few meters away, his familiar, grounded silhouette cutting a sharp figure against the wide-open horizon.
But Yuan wasn't alone. Standing right beside the guild master was another man, his presence immediately introducing a new, uncalculated variable to the quiet landscape.
Noah's gaze locked onto the stranger, his analytical subroutines instinctively mapping the man's physical parameters.
The other man was tall, possessing a broad, heavily muscled frame that spoke of decades of rigorous physical conditioning and martial discipline, topped with a completely bald head that caught the bright afternoon sun like polished stone.
He wore the structured, armored leathers of a high-tier combatant, but despite his imposing stature, his composure completely fractured the moment Noah's boots touched the earth.
