Chapter 241 First-hand Information from Miss Reporter
Magic City, the alley next to Central Park
Elsabel never thought that she would be caught by the Demon King of Thunder County himself.
What made her even more nervous was that her video crystal was confiscated on the spot.
At this moment, she stood stiffly in the shadows, her golden pupils shrunk into a dot, her tail unconsciously froze, and she was frantically thinking about whether she should kowtow and admit her fault, or pretend to be dead immediately...
——As a result, she waited for several seconds, but the Demon King of Thunder County did nothing.
In fact, Luo Yan didn't even have any anger at all. He just stood in front of her with a calm expression and a gentle tone that made her feel a little overwhelmed for a moment.
"Why are you following me?"
The voice was calm, as if it was just asking about a commonplace matter.
Elsabel looked up at the Demon King cautiously and found that he was really not angry. He was just looking at her calmly, as if he was really just asking a question.
A glimmer of hope ignited in her heart.
Driven by the desire to survive, she spoke hastily.
"Yes, my editor asked me to come! She said that if she interviewed you directly, she could dig up big news... You may not know that because of what you said at the hearing, you are very popular among the veterans who returned from the front lines in the Magic City, so I thought..."
As if she was worried that Luo Yan would get angry, she quickly added: "Of course, this is not a bad thing for you, right? You just saw... those demons and undead, they are all spontaneously protecting you."
Luo Yan smiled slightly.
However, just as Elsabel breathed a sigh of relief, his expression suddenly turned cold.
"You're not telling the truth."
These few words were like a sharp knife piercing Elsabel's heart.
Her face turned pale instantly, her heart beat wildly, and cold sweat ran down her back.
“I, I…”
At this moment, she finally understood the fear of facing the devil.
Driven by the tremendous pressure, she closed her eyes tightly and spoke tremblingly without hiding anything.
"I, I made a bet with editor Lulu..."
Luo Yan raised his eyebrows: "Bet?"
Elsabel nodded vigorously and decisively betrayed the slime editor: "Yes! Let's make a bet. If I can interview the Demon King, I can have my own column, office, and assistant in the newspaper!"
At this point, she suddenly showed a frustrated look on her face and added in a low voice: "If I fail... not only will I lose all my bonuses and performance, but I will also have to clean the public office area for a year."
Luo Yan looked at the succubus reporter in front of him with a hint of teasing in his tone.
"So, you'd rather risk being caught by the devil than clean up?"
Elsabel grinned awkwardly, gave him a look that said "you know", and then looked away evasively.
Youyou, who was floating aside, looked at Luo Yan in surprise and whispered in a voice that only the latter could hear.
"Master Demon, how do you know she just lied?"
"I don't know, I just wanted to scare her." Luo Yan replied in his heart.
This is the truth.
In fact, it doesn't matter if she is telling the truth, there must be some incompleteness in her confession. What he needs to do is not to dig out those insignificant details, but to make the other party afraid of the act of "hiding something". In this way, even if the other party lies next time, he will subconsciously be nervous and reveal his flaws.
"..." Youyou glanced at Luo Yan with a subtle expression.
As expected of the Demon King.
Still as evil as ever...
Under Elsabel's nervous gaze, Luo Yan picked up the confiscated video crystal and played with it casually.
Elsabel was panicking.
Video crystals are not cheap, even the cheap ones for students cost two thousand dollars, and her professional version is worth tens of thousands.
If the Demon King accidentally crushes it, at least three months of her work will be in vain!
Just when Elsabel was getting anxious like a grasshopper on a hot pot, the next second she heard a sentence that made her stunned on the spot -
“I’m available for interviews.”
Elsabel was stunned: "...Ah?"
Luo Yan calmly threw the crystal to her.
"You're in luck. I just happen to have some time."
Elsabel hurriedly hugged the crystal ball that was thrown to her, and was completely confused.
etc--
The Demon King actually agreed?!
She had imagined many possibilities, including but not limited to selling her body, stalking, blackmailing, and indirect attacks, etc. However, she had never expected that the other party would be so approachable. After listening to her difficulties, he actually kindly agreed to her request!
In Hell, kindness is not a virtue, but even demons do not object to being shown kindness to themselves.
In an instant, Luo Yan's image became taller in Elsabel's eyes, just like the omnipotent and unpredictable Lord Bayeli! Elsabel was so moved that her eyes were wet.
Looking at the reporter who had been standing there motionless for a long time, Luo Yan asked casually.
"Any questions?"
"No, no!" Elsabel quickly replied, her voice distorted with excitement.
"Then follow."
Luo Yan looked at her meaningfully, then turned around and took her out of the deserted alley.
…
Outside the alley, Vivian kicked the street lamp out of boredom, the tips of her shoes hitting the cold metal again and again.
From time to time, she looked towards the entrance of the alley. After each peek, she pretended to be indifferent and quickly looked away, but not long after, her neck unconsciously stretched towards a familiar direction.
Too slow! It has been a while since Luo Yan disappeared into the alley with the abominable succubus, but it has been quiet there, without any movement. I don't know what the respected elder brother is going to do with the succubus, whether to roast it or boil it.
To be honest, she was already beginning to regret nodding and letting her brother handle it.
"...Succubus, it turns out that none of them are good."
The more Vivian thought about it, the angrier she became, and the angrier she became, the more aggrieved she felt. However, she did not dare to disobey Luo Yan and rush in to take a look, so she could only vent her frustration on the innocent street lamp.
"Bang!"
The dark steel lamppost even sank slightly under her "gentle" treatment.
In fact, she has already restrained herself.
Otherwise, with her strength as a gold-level vampire, even if she had used only one-tenth of her strength, the street lamp would have flown out like a cannonball, destroying the windows of at least two shops.
Not far away, the goblin lamplighter huddled in the corner trembling, not daring to get closer. He could only stare at the demon guards across the street.
However, the demon guards chose to ignore him, or even walked away on purpose, pretending to fiddle with the flowers and plants on the street very seriously.
They know better than anyone what demons can be provoked and what demons cannot be provoked.
Only young people who have just started working would make mistakes like this, and those young people usually patrol in the far suburbs and it is never their turn to work in the core area of Shanghai.
Just when Vivian's anger was about to reach its peak, there was finally movement in the alley.
Her dear brother finally came out with a shameless succubus.
Vivian's originally tense brows relaxed instantly. She quickly let go of the slightly deformed street lamp, rushed to Luo Yan like a gust of wind, and hugged his arms.
She put her nose close to the bed and took a deep breath.
very good!
There is no succubus smell! Vivian instantly showed a satisfied smile.
As a vampire, she has absolute confidence in her sense of smell.
"What are you doing?" Luo Yan's eyebrows jumped and he tried to pull his arm back.
"I……"
Vivian looked at Luo Yan pulling his arm back, and the smile on her face collapsed instantly. She felt as if her heart was hit hard and she pouted in grievance.
"It's all your fault... You stayed for so long, I... I was worried that it wouldn't work."
Luo Yan was silent for a moment and looked down at his pocket watch.
——It was only five minutes.
Feeling the murderous aura gradually spreading towards her, Miss Elsabel subconsciously hid behind Luo Yan. When she saw the murderous aura suddenly intensified, she jumped away reflexively and said tremblingly.
"Lady Vivian... I have deleted your video... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I... I shouldn't have filmed you without your consent..."
Her apology came from the heart.
Especially when she learned from Luo Yan that this person was the eldest daughter of the Colin family, she was almost scared to death.
After all, the Abyss Times is not the Demon City Daily which has an official background in Hell. Moreover, even if it is the latter, it has to act according to circumstances when it comes to the core families of the Demon City.
For example, last year, the "Magic City Daily" reported on the scandals of the Dragun family and the Chaos Gate. Basically, the reports revolved around a few points that were known to everyone. Rather than spreading public opinion, it was more of a final decision to prevent rumors from becoming more and more outrageous. Moreover, the focus was basically on the younger brother of the head of the family who was neither important nor had a title.
Unearthing conspiracies that others don’t know about?
That means you want to be reborn.
Elsabel finally understood why her editor looked at her like she was dead. Although the Demon King of Thunder County was not so powerful, who knows if he had any connections with a powerful family? Thinking of this, her calves trembled even more.
Vivian didn't take it to heart, nor did she think it was as exaggerated as she thought.
Seeing that this guy apologized from the bottom of his heart and that nothing really happened between her and her brother, she forgave her even though she was upset.
"Yeah, just remember it. Next time you take pictures, remember to make me look good." Vivian muttered as she circled her slightly curly bangs with her index finger and looked aside.
Elsabel smiled awkwardly.
There won't be a next time.
这个教训她会记一辈子，并让它伴随自己整个职业生涯。
最⊥新⊥小⊥说⊥在⊥六⊥9⊥⊥书⊥⊥吧⊥⊥首⊥发！
罗炎将怀表塞回了腰带上，随后看向了薇薇安，轻轻咳嗽了一声说道。
“那么，天色不早了，相信你也玩够了，今天就到这里吧。”
不远处，哥布林点灯人正搬着梯子，蹑手蹑脚地爬上微微倾斜的路灯，从背篓里取出新的煤块塞进去，给这略微幽暗的街道续上了辉煌的光芒。
听到罗炎的声音，薇薇安迅速将头扭了回来，慌忙说道。
“啊，那个……我们还没去看南孚——”
对上罗炎似笑非笑的视线，薇薇安这才猛然想起来对方已经识破了自己的谎言，不由的烫红了脸。
“下，下次……一定带你去。”
其实她本来是真心想带罗炎去见见自己的弟弟的，只可惜南孚那家伙实在是太胆小了。一听说要去见哥哥，他立刻吓得缩成一团，就像吃坏了肚子的仓鼠，不是喊肚子疼就是腿抽筋，甚至连腰都能莫名其妙地疼起来……总之，从头到脚都是毛病。
当然，薇薇安心里清楚这事儿不能怪他。
归根结底，还是自己的错。
如果不是因为自己当初太过自大，一意孤行，结果被兄长狠狠地教训了一顿，以至于给南孚留下了“兄长比自己更可怕”的深刻印象，他也不会害怕成这样。
每次想到这点，薇薇安就忍不住自责。
她下定了决心，一定要找机会解开这个误会。
她的兄长大人其实是个温柔的人，连一只苍蝇都不会轻易伤害，比如刚才的两只苍蝇就活得好好的，既没有被烤了也没有被煮了……她发誓，总有一天她要让南孚相信自己，让他重新认识到兄长大人的好。
就在她沉浸在自己的思绪中时，忽然发现罗炎疑惑地看了她一眼。
“你怎么了？”
薇薇安微微一怔，随即收敛情绪，故作轻松地笑了笑。
“啊，没，没什么！刚，刚刚想到了一些学校里的事情，我……好像作业还没写完，嘿嘿。”
罗炎没有多问，只是点了点头。
“作业还是要写的，那……没别的事情就告辞了。”
他已经答应了艾莎贝尔的采访，一会儿还有事要忙。
“嗯呢！”
薇薇安连忙抬起头，眼神里带着些许不舍，但还是乖乖地点了点脑袋，笑着挥手目送着罗炎和艾莎贝尔离开，直到两人的身影渐渐消失在街灯的尽头。
她收回手臂，嘴角还挂着笑意，可没过多久，眉头却皱了起来。
总觉得……
哪里有点不对劲。
等等！！她苦思冥想许久，猛然一怔，意识到一个严重的问题——
那两个家伙怎么是一起走的？！
……
漆黑色的怨念在夜色中凝聚。
跟在罗炎旁边的艾莎贝尔忽然毫无预兆的绊了一跤，所幸走在旁边的罗炎绅士的递出了手，这才没有真的摔倒。
“抱，抱歉……”艾莎贝尔连声道歉，为自己的丢脸不自觉的红了脸。
“小心看路。”
罗炎并没有多说什么，只是提醒了一句，随后便收回了自己的手，接着便带着这位冒冒失失的魅魔记者小姐去了一家装潢典雅的红茶馆，并让坐在香炉背后的胖乎乎的史莱姆店主给开了一个僻静的包间。
艾莎贝尔跟在罗炎的身后进了包厢，拘谨地坐在了他的对面。
趁着魔人店员小姐为二人上茶的工夫，她偷偷打量了一眼周围的环境。
这个地方雅致而低调，茶香弥漫，窗边是一片朦胧的夜色。
艾莎贝尔一边观察着周围，一边忍不住感叹魔王大人居然如此有品位，和她最初的印象截然相反。
她原本以为，这位来自前线的恶魔会是那种杀伐果断的暴君，茹毛饮血的恶魔。但现在看来，他比自己想象中还要优雅，而且平易近人，甚至连一点统治者的架子都没有，以至于如果不是了解他的一些故事，她甚至会将他当成学校里比她大一级的学长。
当然。
她毫不怀疑，这家伙是见过血的。
只是这把刀，不会轻易让血污和油脂弄脏自己的刀刃。
“开始吧。”罗炎端起一杯红茶，轻轻吹了吹，淡淡说道。
艾莎贝尔迅速回过了神来，手忙脚乱地拿出她的采访本、魔术鹅毛笔以及录像水晶，接着迫不及待地进入状态说道。
“那——尊敬的罗炎先生，雷鸣郡的魔王，请允许我直接进入正题询问，有传言说你在听证会上当着阿特兰议员的面提出，让真理部调查塞尔多港战役失败的原因？请问这是真的吗？”
“确有其事。”
艾莎贝尔咽了口唾沫，迅速追问道。
“我想知道您怀疑这场战争失败另有其因的理由是什么？”
“理由很简单，我亲自指挥过万人级别的战役，而且不止一次。有些东西能瞒住一般人，却瞒不住我。”
罗炎轻轻抿了一口红茶，将茶杯放回了托盘。
也就在这一瞬间，艾莎贝尔明显感觉到，坐在他面前的这个男人，身上的气势陡然发生了变化。
“我直说好了，用狮鹫骑士团突袭已经在高地上部署成功的魔晶炮阵地等同于自杀，奥斯帝国的指挥官一定是抱着死无葬身之地的决心赌上了这一步棋。换而言之，他清楚自己的胜算不足一成。”
“他……赌赢了？”艾莎贝尔咽了一口唾沫。
“赢得蹊跷，”罗炎一针见血地继续说道，“狮鹫骑士团的自杀式袭击不但大获全胜，而且全歼了赛贝斯将军部署在高地的炮兵阵地，进而引发了赤炎军团之后全军的溃败……你不觉得这有大问题吗？”
“可是……我从公开的战报上得知，那天是无风的晴天，而且帝国通过对火炮的强化，提升了烟雾弹的射程……”艾莎贝尔的眼中闪烁着一丝光亮，迅速翻动手中的笔记，找出了她用笔标出的那一行，随后将目光递向了罗炎，“赛贝斯将军的解释是天气的原因，以及魔晶炮落后的机动性无法适应诡谲多变的战场。”
“这是最荒谬的地方，”罗炎淡淡笑了笑，继续说道，“一个合格的将军，将失败的原因归咎于支援武器的机动性太差，等同于将无法在规定时间抵达战场归咎于士兵的盔甲太重。他不是一个菜鸟，不应该犯这种错误。而最关键的是，如果帝国炮兵的烟雾弹能影响魔晶炮的视野，低空飞行的狮鹫骑士团理应同样看不见目标。”
“如此多的不合理之处，我有理由做出推测，这是一次有预谋的政治冒险，所以我提出希望真理部介入调查是合理的。”
确实——
艾莎贝尔虽然没有上过战场，但听他说到这份上，隐约也觉得有些不寻常。
当然，如何将这些疑点表达的能让《深渊时报》的读者们理解是需要一些文字功底的，不过这对她来说却不是什么难事儿。
艾莎贝尔深吸了一口气，继续问起了另一个敏感的问题。
“这是一个很严肃的指控，而且针对的是前线的指挥官……您不怕因此得罪战争部的官员吗？”
“得罪？”
罗炎淡淡地笑了笑，语气平稳，义正言辞地说道。
“我不认为这是得罪，也不认为这是和任何人作对，更不是因为私人恩怨才在听证会上做出那样的指控。如果非要我找一个理由，那就是战士们的牺牲不该被遗忘，更不该被作为一些人谋取政治利益的工具。”
艾莎贝尔微微一怔。
有那么一瞬间，她莫名觉得他心中就是如此想的。
罗炎看着愣住的记者小姐，微微前倾了身子，压低了说话的嗓音，让他的声音听起来更沉稳，更有说服力……且更有力量。
他并不是在和眼前的记者对话，而是在和那些沉沦在贫民窟里的伤员们，那些被遗忘在魔都角落的边角料们，以及那些用酒精麻醉着自己、试图忘记前线的创伤的所有恶魔以及亡灵们……他在看着他们的眼睛，用他们的腔调发出他们的声音。
“没有谁比前线的战士更清楚战争的残酷，我曾经也站在他们的位置上，我很清楚他们心中的恐惧和绝望。”
“我们之所以能够承受这所有的一切，不是因为贵族的荣誉，也不是因为一笔可怜的遣散费，而是因为我们相信地狱终有一天能踏上旧土，重建冥界，夺回圣西斯从我们手上夺走的一切！我们要让生者的归生者，死者的归死者……或者换句话，我们之所以愿意献出生命，全都是因为我们心中的信仰！”
艾莎贝尔屏住了呼吸，下意识地记下了这句话。
坐在她对面的罗炎并没有停下，而是继续凝视着她的双眼，将他的意志刻在了她的灵魂深处。
“这就是我提出指控的理由。”
"Those 80,000 lives are not a number, nor are they a tool for politicians to shirk responsibility, nor are they a burden. Those young men came from all over the world, they had families, friends, loved ones and neighbors who cared about them... They all need an explanation."
"If no one else is in charge of this, then I will."
(End of this chapter)