Try going to the hidden Empire fort southwest of Almaria, in the lava zone. There are some Empire fights you will suddenly pick, but you should save often so you can be correctly prepared (casting Beast Ceremony)
And when you feel powerful, pick a boat and go to Fort Dolt-har northwest of Fort Emerald (used to be Sss-thsss slith fort in A1) and kill some troops there. Then when you grow some levels up, rampage in Dolthar and kill Limoncelli. Just avoid the guards and run towards Limoncelli. He's not so tough, neither his guards are, so you would easily wipe them off at that moment. When you kill Limoncelli, it's a hilarious moment (no spoiler, just see it by yourself)
After you kill Limoncelli, you can fight the guards outside Dolt-har and you can kill them.
That would give you 5-8 levels approximately.