Is this an acceptable bug or a legitimate feature, similar to boarding a boat with slow units and then removing them?
Added 12 minutes later
In previous attempts, I used this bug without hesitation. But then I noticed that after capturing the 141st castle on the water, after applying this trick twice, the Lich's mana points increase to 7k (and there is basically no limit). This seems like an artificial inflation due to bugs, so I decided to replay the game from the beginning without it, since I used this trick for Dessa at 116.
Added 6 minutes later
But even without this bug, the pace will be a little slower, and that's okay – it seems like I can get Golden Dragons at 141, which opens the way to Kirra and later to Sepello. At the expense of taking Inferno cities. But essentially, getting the Golden Dragons at 141 is more important, because otherwise, I would have to wait a week to get out of the starting area.