The Palace Guard's primary duty was to protect the personal safety of the main royal family members living within the palace. They were much like imperial bodyguards. Only knights most trusted by the royal family and most accomplished in martial skill had the honor of guarding royal family members, and thus the opportunity to behold His Majesty the King, Her Highness the Queen, and those princes and princesses born into nobility.
In addition, knights of the Palace Guard also served as ceremonial escorts for state guests, welcoming foreign visitors and performing mounted archery and swordsmanship demonstrations at diplomatic events to display the martial spirit of the Vorris Kingdom. During certain grand holiday celebrations, martial tournaments were also held. Those who achieved high rankings would receive a personal audience with the king, be granted nobility titles and lands, and awarded honor banners and medals.
Some who were especially valued by the king would be directly assigned a position of captain or higher in the Kingdom Knights Order.
It could be said that such martial tournaments were like the Civil Service Examination of ancient dynasties and the modern college entrance exam in Zhou Ming's world. The higher one ranked, the richer the rewards. Whenever registration opened, everyone rushed to sign up. Even the possibility of injury, death, or crippling disability in the tournament could not stem the tide of applicants.
Zhou Ming was not particularly interested in this sort of martial tournament. A tiny kingdom like Vorris could only offer so many worthwhile rewards after holding such competitions year after year. Perhaps the top three would receive a baron's nobility title and a fief tucked away in some remote corner—perhaps even within a neighboring country's borders. As for the lower ranks, they would only receive honorary rewards such as Royal Eagle Banners