The Tunnels [II]

Ju Feng continued to block and backtracked, until he found the opening he was looking for. The critter was expecting the same routine. It would slash with its claws while Ju Feng would block. But when Jufeng saw the opening, he stepped into the beast's left and rolled under its left hand. He swung the longsword in a low blow, slicing the softer under-arm of the critter.

The critter, instinctively, swiped the back of its claws at Ju Feng. The force of the impact, sent Ju Feng flying further back into the tunnel where he was sprawling on the ground. It was as if he had been hit by a titan's hammer. He thought he was fortunate it wasn't the razor ends of the claws. Those would have been fatal to him, talisman or not.