Well, Vilk, that was indeed innovative
It would appear that losing a battle has its advantages and can be exploited for a better score. There are several good points where you can strategically lose a battle and save yourself the time to get back to darion for various reasons (troop restock, etc) - like freedom islands and elven islands, especially if you have time to spare and the day hadn't rolled yet. Great find Vilk, hands down.
Still, you should try ending the game without anga's I think that should shave off a day and improve the score - since you still need to travel, unless you do it in the beginning of day 7 after you beat up haas and just before talking to king mark - in that case using this trick will just net you a bonus quest and improve the scoreline.