"State your business" the guard at the Manora city gate asked

"I'm Rain, leader of this mercenary group the White Phoenix" Ranier said, hiding his own personal name and using the name Griffith's Band of the Hawk was named after they recaptured the Fortress Doldrey that caused Midland to win the Hundred Year War against the Tudor Empire.

He hoped the name would attract the attention of Femto if and when he eventually reforms the Band of the Hawk for conquest. 

"White Phoenix eh? That's 5 copper coins per head" the guard said

1 gold coin was worth 10 silver coins, and 10 copper were worth 1 silver coin.

As Ranier didn't have anything less than gold coins, he gave the guard 1 gold coin, which was a drop in the ocean to his many millions in his rings. 

"You know I cannot give you change for this" the guard smirked

"Keep the change. Can we pass?" Ranier asked

"Oh.. sure. Go ahead" the guard said

As Ranier passed the gate with his 4 female companions (Nightingale was invisible), the other guards eyed them and started whispering under their breath. 

"Another rich bastard creating his own mercenary band with his harem of prostitutes. Wait till he's robbed and his girls get captured to be sold as slaves" one of the guard said while the others smirked. 

While Ranier wore black leather armor, the girls didn't exactly look like they were warriors. Violet dressed in a long dress, while Rei wore even less in a thin white dress. Both Nightingale and Teresa wore light yet revealing leather tops and short skirts while Esdeath wore a tight revealing jacket top and short skirt with high boots. 

Besides Violet's large axe and Teresa's huge sword, they didn't look like warriors at all. 

They walked through the large market area as a man approached Ranier

"Do you want girls?" the man asked

"Does he look like he needs prostitutes?" Esdeath held him up by his throat

"N...No... I meant slaves! The slave market is nearby" he gasped

"Oh? There might be others like us. Maybe we should take a look" Ranier thought to himself

"Let him go Esdeath. Lead the way" Ranier commanded

The man led him to a large building that had multiple floors.

There were men and women, all naked and chained in cages.

Ranier remembered the feeling when he was enslaved, until Violet rescued him, or more accurately, they rescued each other.

Rei too was also enslaved like this, only her slave caravan was attacked by large bigfoot-like creatures.

All his companions were relatively powerful, but somehow they all appeared here naked and in a vulnerable state. 

Esdeath was frozen in ice. Nightingale was immediately captures and prepared to be hung. Teresa was brutally mutilated and raped by orcs. 

There were so many slaves. Realistically, Ranier could buy every one of them with the gold he had. But that would be unwise as it will attract too much attention. 

He scanned them with his ability to read other people's stats, but he found nothing of interest. He even got Nightingale to look out for people with powers. 

"Ah... maybe you like the beautiful ones. I can see you have good taste by the company you keep" the slave seller smiled and said

He led them straight to the upper floor and brought out several beautiful women, 10 at a time for him to select. 

Ranier looked at them, and many of them were indeed beautiful. But they were not what he was looking for. 

Even though they were not powered, he was looking for some that had combat abilities that he could absorb. 

Just as the seller was getting irritated, a blonde female caught Ranier's eye

"I want her" he said pointing at the naked blonde girl with light blue eyes. She looked familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out where he's seen her before. 

She was obviously beautiful, but so were the other women. But somehow he felt she was special. 

"I feel some power in her" Nightingale whispered in his ear. He didn't react to her, not letting the seller know that there was an invisible warrior in there with them. 

He pretended not to be too concerned about her as she was brought to him and got her to sit obediently on his lap.

Several more girls were brought in when a brunette with light green eyes was brought in. She was similarly beautiful, but again Ranier could not figure out where he's seen her before. 

But he selected her as well, and Nightingale confirmed his suspicions with a whisper in his ear. 

Having seen through all the girls, he asked the slave seller where they were brought from. 

"We purchased them from our regular suppliers. Normally they are prisoners of war, or sold to pay their debts" he said, not revealing too much. 

"Ok then. How much?" Ranier asked

"Well, as you can see, they are beautiful specimens, with not a mark on them. We make sure that they are of the highest quality..." he commented as he pulled the blonde over. 

He spread her legs and used his fingers to pull apart her pussy lips. 

"See? She's still a virgin. The other one too. We ensure the best quality" he said as he pulled over the brunette

"No need to check their virginity. How much?" Ranier asked again. 

"Well, each of them would go for 50 gold coins because they are still pure. But since you are buying two, I can sell them to you for 90 gold coins" the seller said, testing the waters with Ranier. 

Ranier immediately took out 90 gold coins from one of his rings and walked out with his companions and the two new slaves. 

The seller grinned a toothy grin. His greedy eyes had seen Ranier take out the gold coins from his storage ring. Such rings are priceless and are so rare it was impossible to purchase them anywhere. 

"Don't be afraid. Just follow us out of here before I release you" Ranier whispered into both the blonde and the brunette's ears

They looked up hopefully at him and nodded. 

It was clear, whoever they were, this slave experience was one that shocked and terrified them.