Two years after the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was transferred, the godless king Batu came to Russia. He becomes with his army on the Voronezh River near Ryazan. Batu sends ambassadors to Prince Ryazan Yuri Ingorevich, offering the following conditions: the Ryazan prince will immediately give up a tenth of everything — land, people, wealth. Yuri Ingorevich asks for military assistance from the Grand Duke of Vladimir Georgy Vsevolodovich. Georgy Vsevolodovich refuses to help, wanting to fight with Batu on his own. Then Yuri Ingorevich convenes the princes - his closest neighbors and relatives for advice on what to do.
The Ryazan prince sends his son Fedor Yuryevich to Batu with gifts and a request not to attack the Ryazan land. The godless king Batu was "flattering and merciless." Having accepted the gifts, he falsely promises not to attack Ryazan, but at the same time does not abandon his intention; moreover, he wants Ryazan to bring his wives and daughters to him “for fornication”. Having learned from one traitor, a Ryazan nobleman, that Fyodor Yuryevich himself has a beautiful wife, Baty addresses him with such a “proposal”. Prince Fyodor Yuryevich refuses Batu, for which he orders to kill him and throw the prince’s body to be devoured by wild animals and birds.
Only one servant from the retinue of Fedor Yuryevich manages to escape from Batu. It is he who brings the terrible news of the death of the prince to Ryazan. Hearing this, Princess Eupraxia, the wife of Fyodor Yurievich, throws herself out of the window of the high tower with her little son Ivan Fyodorovich. The princess and the young prince are “infected” to death. Since then, the icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker located in Ryazan has been called the icon of St. Nicholas of Zaraz. Weeping for many hours throughout the city.
"Having rested from crying," Yuri Ingorevich gathers his army. In the battle with Batu, many princes perish. Prince Oleg Ingorevich was seriously injured. Seeing him exhausted from wounds, Batu offers him to go over to his side, and for this Batu will order him to be cured. Oleg refuses, for which the khan orders to cut it into pieces.
Approaching the city, the army of Batu encircles it, and a continuous five-day battle begins. Moreover, if the Tatar warriors are replaced, the residents of Ryazan fight unchanged. The battle ends with the fall of Ryazan. Having occupied Ryazan, the Tatars rob and kill the inhabitants of the city. So, they commit great sacrilege - they kill Princess Agripina, the mother of the Grand Duke, other princesses and princesses who were with her, as well as the bishop and priests in the church.
At this time, the brother of the Ryazan prince Yuri Ingorevich Ingvar Ingorevich is in Chernigov, together with him - the Ryazan nobleman Evpatiy Kolovrat. They rush to the aid of Ryazan, but arrive after its ruin. Evpatiy gathers a squad and goes to fight with the Tatars. He suddenly attacks the army of Batu and "cuts them off without mercy" so that "the swords are dull." Tatars are struck by the courage and retirement of Russians and, in particular, the valor of Evpatiy Kolovrat. Shurin Batuya Khostovrul boasts that he will capture Evpatia and Russian combatants alive. Evpatiy and Khostovrul meet in a duel in which the Russian hero cuts Batyev’s brother-in-law in half “to the saddle”. The Tatars still manage to kill Evpatiy Kolovrat, but they are afraid of him even dead. The author points out that the Tatars have respect for the Russian brave men, and Tsar Batu says: “If such a person served me, I would bring him closer to me.”
Ingvar Ingorevich at this time mourns his brothers, mother and relatives. He orders the bodies of Yuri Ingorevich, Oleg Ingorevich and other brothers, as well as Fyodor Yuryevich, his wife and son, to be found and bury them with Christian honors. Ingvar Ingorevich becomes the Ryazan prince, and then “renews” the land of Ryazan: he rebuilds churches, monasteries, and gathers people. The author ends the "Tale ..." as follows: "And the joy to the Christians became, for God delivered them with his strong hand from the godless king Batu."
