Jieke Group's purge in the occupied territories did not escape the notice of the outside world.
In the modern society where communication is highly developed, it's possible to upload photos and videos to the internet at any moment, and it didn't take long for the external world to become aware.
As a result, Jieke Group's purging operations naturally came to the knowledge of the international community.
Media outlets controlled by the Beautiful Country, as expected, launched a verbal and written onslaught against Jieke Group through newspapers, television, and the internet, vehemently condemning Jieke Group's actions.
Despite this, Jieke Group continued their operations unimpeded, indifferent to the uproar they caused worldwide.
Jieke Group's purges were mainly targeted at the upper echelons in the occupation zone, and the ordinary people were largely unaffected, which was considerably milder compared to the ethnic massacres that specifically targeted civilians.
The Beautiful Country was limited to verbal condemnation of Jieke Group's actions, not willing to send troops themselves, and instead called on other countries to send military aid to the pitiful Siam, but naturally, no country responded, at most they offered material aid and money, with everyone merely observing the situation.
Those truly terrified and uneasy about Jieke Group's cleansing operations were the people of Siam who were under attack.
They seemed to have seen their own fate in the plight of the elites in the occupied area.
Thus, the local elites began to further roll up their capital and flee abroad, but while people could escape, their houses, lands, and factories could not.
Jieke Group, on one hand, purged the potential threats in the occupation zone, and on the other, after brief repairs, the main force continued to advance.
The large army stationed in Chumphon Province began to move north, penetrating deeper into Siamese territory.
The army split into two routes, one heading north to conquer Beibi Prefecture, Da Prefecture, and Chiang Mai Prefecture, territories bordering Chan Country, and another advancing from the northeast direction, heading straight for the Siam Capital, Manchester.
Starting from the southern military base in Chumphon Province, just how far was the direct distance to Manchester? The answer is 121 kilometers.
This was a distance close enough for bayonet combat, with the entirety of Manchester effectively already under the threat of Jieke Group's military blades.
Manchester was built on the alluvial plains of the Delta of the Mekong River, a vast and fertile land which was the fundamental cradle for the growth and expansion of the Siamese Tai Clan.
But such an area was fundamentally indefensible, which is why Siam had constructed the Kerimu Defense Line.
It was Manchester's last barrier, a protective shield, and originally, Siam had hoped that the Kerimu Defense Line would hold back Jieke Group's army and safeguard Manchester's security.
But in the end, their plans completely failed.
The Kerimu Defense Line did not provide much of an obstacle to Jieke Group, and now, Manchester was completely exposed before Jieke Group's advancing forces.
As Jieke Group launched their assault, Siamese leaders, on one hand, commanded the army to set up defenses and pile up obstacles, while on the other, they desperately fled from Manchester.
There was no thought of standing by the Capital and sharing its fate.
The force of Jieke Group's army was so overpowering that it encountered little resistance on its path; the armies trying to stop them were either crushed by Jieke Group or surrendered at the sight of their approach.
The elites of the Siamese Army were nearly all consumed at the Kerimu Defense Line, and now they were either killed in action or taken prisoner. On paper, Siam still had nearly 300,000 troops, but these were all newly recruited soldiers, with the longest training period being just a few months.
How could these fresh recruits block Jieke Group's army? Led by the Spider Mecha as the vanguard, on the plains leading to Manchester, all blockades and ambushes along the way were easily pierced through.
The recruits' resistance did not pose any hindrance, and in fact, capturing prisoners took up quite a bit of time, which was perhaps the only effect they had in delaying the army's advance.
Departing in the morning, and by midday, the vanguard mechanized units—the First Mecha Combat Brigade, the Third Heavy Synthetic Brigade, and the Eighth Motorized Infantry Division—had already reached the outskirts of Manchester, with the majestic city within sight from a distance.
This city, known as Angel City and the largest city in Southeast Asia, and the second largest in Southeast Asia, was now like a scantily-clad, alluring beauty exposed before Jieke Group.
Hao Guang sat in the command center modified from a Spider Mecha, observing the city from high above through the deployed Eye Worms.
High-rise buildings towered everywhere, the wide roads choked with a huge number of vehicles stuck within the city, unable to move. The crowded masses of civilians, laden with belongings and assisting the elderly and the young, tried to flee the city soon to be engulfed by war.
Beyond that, there were also soldiers with panic-stricken faces scurrying about, constructing barricades in streets and hastily modified defenses for urban warfare, preparing for a desperate last stand.
"This city is too large, and there are too many civilians. If the enemy puts up fierce resistance and we attack with force, it will likely cause a large number of civilian casualties," Hao Guang said slowly, as Manchester covered an area of 1568 square kilometers, with a permanent population exceeding 13 million.
Urban warfare is an extremely perilous affair with a high risk for soldiers to be ambushed in the dense cityscape—alleyways, windows, sewer systems, and other complex areas make ambushes difficult to defend against.
Hao Guang was not afraid of fighting; even if the Spider Mecha entered the city, it would be an invincible presence, and coupled with the accompanying Super Soldiers, it would surely suppress the Siam Soldiers.
However, using various heavy weapons in the city, to his knowledge, due to Jieke Group's swift advance, there were still over ten million people in the city. To bombard without care would end countless civilian lives.