"To start with, about how much time do we have? This is the most important part since if we have to fight tomorrow, abandoning the Capital is, unfortunately, the best choice."
"I can't give an exact time frame but at a minimum, we probably have six months, and the maximum is around fourteen months," Aurelia says.
"Then we may have enough time. The biggest problem for us is our levels. The two of us having special classes gives us strong growth rates, but we are held back by our levels. You get around this with all your different abilities, but I'm sure the army has plenty of people who are high levelled tier 4 and 5. But our biggest asset is Cory, as she is technically a monster, and a rather high tier one at that, her growth rate is likely superior to ours until we hit around level 100," Lia explains.
"So what your saying is, we should look to level as fast as we can?" I ask.
"For the most part, yes, but not just us three, everyone who will be partaking in battle needs to level up. We are clearly outnumbered, so we need to fight quantity with quality," Lia says.
"It's one thing for a small group like us, but how are we supposed to split experience between so many people? Doesn't the experience points for a kill only go to whoever got the last hit?"
"You didn't know? Actually, that makes sense, for a monster the only way to level up is to kill others, but for us, we can level up through exercise and training. I'm certain the forces of the Archidux will also be doing this on a large scale too, so to compensate, the training of our forces will have to be much heavier."
"I'll try and gather up the Legates that were dismissed by my Uncle for not siding with him. They should be able to whip the garrison here into shape. I'll send word to Bearnas first since she is the closest and once she arrives the two of you can work out a training regiment."
"That's fine," Lia says as her expression shifts to a more reluctant one, "*sigh* I don't want to do this, but for the sake of efficiency, once the former Legates arrive, you two should look to find some strong monsters to kill. I get the full amount of EXP from things that Cory kills, so I can remain here to oversee and assist with the training. But you two shouldn't go too far from here in case an emergency situation appears. Your Majesty, can you bring over a map of the surrounding area and a list of where there are likely to be high tier and high level monsters, also if there are any criminals awaiting execution, then let Cory kill them, especially if they are of a high class tier and high levelled."
Getting up from the table we have been sitting around, Aurelia opens one of her drawers and brings a large map back over to us. The map shows the entire continental territory of the Lausiel Empire.
"While there isn't a strict list of where strong monsters are likely to appear, there is a good general idea of where they are most likely to be and most people stay clear of those areas," Aurelia says as she begins pointing to various points on the map, "This mountain and its surrounding area is where we are to find one of the strongest monsters within my Empire's borders."
Taking a look at where Aurelia is pointing, Lia gives her a strange look, "isn't this where--"
"Yes, this mountain is the territory of Lord Gaoh, but I wasn't talking about him. There are plenty of strong monsters on the mountain, but the only problem is the obvious intrusion onto Lord Gaoh's territory. If it were another Sacred Beast then I don't think it would be too much of a problem, but Lord Gaoh will randomly go berserk and attack anything in his sight, I'm sure you remember this. Although it isn't the closest, the rewards are the highest, but the risk is just as high. This risk becomes more apparent as we move further up the mountain, which is also where many of the strongest monsters live."
"You could have let me finish, but regardless, I think the risk here is too much. We were lucky to have encountered the Ursine Lord when his berserk state was nearing its end. With Cory's luck and few people to counterbalance it, you two would probably find him just as he goes berserk. What are the other options?"
"There is another mountain a few hours away from here. This one is around a day away by horse, so while it still isn't the closest, it is the next best place to find strong monsters. Other than that there is a forest only a few hours away, but the quality of monsters there is low and we are unlikely to find anything that could provide decent EXP for too long. There are some other places which have monsters at the level of Gaoh's mountain, but they are on the frontier and are at a minimum a week away from the Capital, so we wouldn't be able to return quickly should an emergency occur."
"Hmm... alright, that mountain a few hours away is likely the best chose for efficiency. Not too far away and the quality of monsters doesn't sound too bad."
Wrapping up our discussion Lia went to plan out a preliminary schedule and training regiment for Aurelia's guards and the city garrison while she waits for the Legates to arrive. Meanwhile, I received another list from Aurelia and went off to finish the cleanup of the city. As for Aurelia, as far as I can tell, she is just relaxing and ordering other people around.
Over the course of the next few days, starting with Bearnas who we met at the factory, many former Leegates arrived hall of them being at least tier 4 and are a rather high level. And with their arrival, Aurelia and I prepare to set out.