The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 271: An attack on the ferry

The shift in the Ferryman’s demeanor was so sudden it almost made me dizzy. One moment, he was a cynical gatekeeper spitting tobacco and trying to get me to pay the toll, and the next, he was practically trying to bury himself in the silt out of sheer terror.

"Stand up, Barkas," Noah said, his voice dropping into that low, resonant tone of authority. He didn’t sound angry, just... tired. "We’re not here for a royal procession. We just need to cross."

The Ferryman scrambled to his feet, his green scales slick with mud, his yellow eyes darting between Noah and the rest of us.

He looked around, trying to figure out our relationship, and his eyes fixed especially on me, the female who had just been calling a King by his first name like it was nothing.

He could smell the truth. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Of course, Your Majesty. Right away," Barkas stuttered, gesturing wildly toward the gangplank. "The boat is yours. No toll! No toll for the Silver Wolf!"

I felt a strange prickle of discomfort. Seeing a grown man tremble at his name made the reality of ’The West Way’ hit me all over again.

Was this how they usually feared all royalty, or was it just Noah’s rule? He definitely didn’t seem like a tyrant ruler, so I guess they just had that much amount of respect for the crown.

We stepped onto the thick, wooden deck of the ferry. The wood was dark and water-logged, and the whole structure groaned as the current tugged at it.

I’ve never been on a boat before, not much of a water person, so I gotta ask...

"Is it always like this?" I whispered to Noah as the ferryman began to unmoor the heavy ropes.

The ones I saw on TV looked steady enough but this one feels like it’ll topple over if we move too much.

"What? The groveling or the boat?" Noah asked, leaning against the railing that looked damn unsafe. The truth serum of the valley was still lingering so he couldn’t lie if he wanted to. "The boat is creeky like this but don’t worry, there’s no tale of anyone staying still and falling over."

"O-kay?" So does that mean I’ll fall over if I don’t stay still? I gulped.

"And as for the grovelling," his eyes fell heavily on the muddy water. "Yes, and that’s why I left. It was tiring having to be a king and look up with so much importance. When it was just us in the wild, I was no one but the husband who liked to tease his wife and bicker with the other husbands. But our here... I’m practically a symbol. Folks don’t see the man; they see the title and the power it carries."

And that’s probably why they always try to throw themselves at him, wishing to become his mate and the queen. Now I understand.

He couldn’t exactly push them all away even if he didn’t want to leave heirs here and there. It would grow tiring at some point and first and foremost, he was a man with a working libido. It was practically impossible to abstain forever.

He must’ve had it rough.

He turned to me, his dark eyes searching my face. "Does it change things for you? Seeing me like this?"

I looked at him—really looked at him. He was still the man who had helped me through the most terrifying nights of my life.

"Pft, are you kidding me?" I folded my arms. "You’re still the beast who rubbed my belly just to make me feel better when I was pregnant," I said, a small, playful smile tugging at my lips. "I don’t feel different just because you had a past."

"I feel the same way." He said as he let out a genuine laugh, the tension in his shoulders finally breaking. "So I can’t see you any different whether you’re an outsider or a soul bound to this world."

"I won’t say thank you," I said and he grinned.

"I’ll say it for both of us. Thank you."

My cheeks heated up and I felt warm inside.

He was such a flirt without even trying.

As the ferry pushed off into the center of the Silt River, the water became a violent, opaque brown.

The boat began to rock, and I gripped the railing. We were halfway across when Damar suddenly stiffened, his eyes fixed on the distant shore we were approaching.

"Noah," Damar said, his voice sharp.

I followed his gaze. On the opposite bank, the mists were clearing to reveal a line of wooden spikes. There were over a dozen beastmen waiting at the landing point, holding spears.

Was this considered a warm welcome around here? Or is that an active mob trying to threaten our safety?

I don’t know but the latter seems more sensible.

"They aren’t just guards, that’s for sure," Fenric said, as if trying to answer my unspoken question and I looked at him.

If even Fenric says that, then they must be hostile.

Noah’s expression hardened as he gazed at them.

"Just stay behind us, little tiger," he commanded softly. "And remember... keep your head down."

"I want to keep it up though," I said. "How else will I watch the action?"

He looked at me, taken aback, and then remembered I was a one-of-a-kind female.

"And can we start whatever we’re going to do after getting off? The thought of this boat rocking and me falling into this..." I looked at the muddy water and shuddered. "Ugh, let’s just get to landing."

"Alright," Noah said and turned to the ferryman. "Go faster. It would be bad for both you and us if this boat topples when we’re still so far from the shore."

"On it, your majesty."

He began to move his stick even faster and then I noticed one of the beastmen attempting to throw his spear at us.

"Noah, they’re about to throw spears!" I yelled and they growled.

"I’ll rip them to shreds," Damar suddenly hitched and handed me the basket. "Wait for me, Ari. I’ll get rid of them."

Before I could say anything, he dove into the muddy water.

"Where’s he going?" Noah asked and I pointed at the shore.

"He’s probably going to whoop some ass," I said, and like lightning, Damar got to the shore in his beast form, biting and whipping the beastmen until there was not a composed unit left.

Ah, this was Damar when he gets seriously angry.